Definition Of Happiness
by eva.chrisovitsanousweety
Summary: Charles and Elsie are happily married for three months now but something is missing! Set before series 1, in 1910.
1. Something is missing

**Chapter 1: Something is missing**

**A/N: This is my very first idea about a story, for Charles and Elsie, that came to my mind but I only managed and decided to write it now. Let me inform you for some basic things for this story. It is set before series 1, in 1910 and you're going to understand why while the story continues. Our lovely Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes are happily married for three months now and they still work at the big house. I hope you like my story. I will wait your reviews. **

**Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in Downton Abby isn't mine. **

He opened his eyes as the first rays of the sun hit his face and enlighten the whole room. Turning to his left side he was greeted with the most beautiful sight, his beautiful sleeping wife. He had found from their first morning as a married couple that he liked to watch her sleeping for a few minutes. She looked so much younger, her features softened while she was sleeping and she had always a smile on her face. As the rays of the sun enlightened the whole room they made her look so young and beautiful. He had a smile on his face as he watched his wife which widened when she opened her eyes and looked at him with the loveliest look, that she only had for her husband.

"Good morning, my darling Elsie.", he said and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Good morning, my love.", she smiled widely at her husband and started laughing. She stopped for a moment when she saw his questioning look. "I just know that you will never stop looking at me while I'm sleeping.", she continued laughing and smiling as she kissed him passionately.

"I can't help it, love. I have the most beautiful woman as my wife and it makes me so happy to see you sleeping peacefully.", he kissed her back as passionately as she had moments ago. "We are already three months married. Happy Anniversary, love.", he kissed her passionately once more.

"Happy Anniversary, love.", she enjoyed very much the attentions of her husband. She smiled at him sadly when he pulled from their kiss and tried hard to hold back her tears. "We have to get up, Charles. We don't want to miss breakfast.", she said as she threw away the covers and put her feet on the floor.

Charles was a bit taken back from her behavior. "Is everything alright, Elsie?", he was a little worried about her the last few days because he had noticed how sad she looked and he didn't know what was wrong.

"Everything is fine, Charles.", she stood up and started gathering her clothes. "Now, I will go first in the bathroom and get ready. I have a lot of work to do today.", after she made sure she got all her clothes, she entered the bathroom and closed the door.

Charles got out of the bed and took his clothes when he heard the bathroom door opening. He kissed her softly on the cheek and entered the bathroom. She stepped into her shoes, looked herself one last time in the mirror and left their bedroom, the bedroom the family had offered them to stay and went downstairs. He was surprised when he didn't find her in the room when he finished and went downstairs for breakfast. He was even more surprised when he entered the servant's hall and saw her leaving. She offered him a small smile that didn't reach her ears as always and closed herself in her sitting room.

As he was eating his breakfast he felt a little weird to have an empty seat next to him but continued to eating. As Beryl entered the room and started picking up the plates with Daisy, she threw a questioning look at the butler but his only answer was the shrug of his shoulders. He decided to start his work in his pantry and not to pressure her, he knew that she needed her time and she would come to him when she was ready.

As she closed the door of her sitting room, she collapsed on the floor and buried her face in her hands. She started crying and shaking uncontrollably. She knew that the butler and the cook had noticed that something was wrong with her but she wasn't ready to talk to them about her feelings. After a few minutes she stood up from the floor and sat in her desk. She needed something to take her mind off of her thoughts and busying herself with work was a solution.

**/-00-/**

It was lunch time for the servants and he hoped that she would be sitting next to him but when he entered the room he was faced with an empty seat once more. The new head housemaid, Anna, was sitting next to the empty chair informed him that the housekeeper had a lot of work to do and she couldn't be with them for lunch. He wanted to go to his wife and find out what was wrong with her but he decided against it and he took his usual seat at the head of the table. After they had finished their lunch and everyone went back to their work, he decided to go to her sitting room. He had given her enough time alone from the morning but he was getting worried and he couldn't stand without doing anything. He knocked once but didn't receive a response, he knocked twice but again nothing. He opened the door but found that she wasn't there. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind and informed the cook that he would be aside if someone needed him.

He left the house from the back door, passed the courtyard and walked towards the gardens of the estate. As he was walking enjoying the sun along with the smell of the flowers, he spotted his wife sitting in a bench looking someone in the distance. He walked slowly towards the bench and sat down without making any noise. He noticed that she was crying silently and put his arm around her shoulders. She was startled at first, she didn't notice him at the beginning, but seeing the worry and the love in his eyes she buried herself in his arms and continued crying.

After a while her sobs had subsided and she shifted a little so she could still be in his arms but looking in the distance. He noticed that she was watching the fifteen year old Sybil riding her bicycle. "Elsie, please tell me what's wrong.", he was placing soft kisses on her hair and holding her hand. "I can't stand seeing you like this without knowing what's troubling you, my love.", he was speaking to her in a soft, low voice and not in a voice full of anger like she was expecting.

For a few moments they watched the girl riding her bicycle in silence when she took a deep breath wiped the silent tears. "Oh, Charles. I want so much to have a child. I want so much to hear our child calling me 'mama' and you 'papa'. I want a child, our child but I don't know if it's possible in my age.", she finally said it and she buried her face in his chest and started crying again.

He was rubbing soothing circles on her back as he was thinking what he had just heard. He finally understood why she was behaving like this, why she was so sad. They had entered in service without thinking that they would find their love, the other one that they would want to spend the rest of their lives together. They fell in love with each other when she arrived at this house as a head housemaid sixteen years ago and they managed to confess their feelings for each other only five months ago. He knew that she would be a wonderful mother, he knew that from the way she treated the daughters of the family and especially the youngest daughter, Lady Sybil. It was natural for a woman to want children, especially when she was happily married with the man she loved.

He kept holding her tightly and rubbing soothing circles on her back to calm her and to let her know that he was with her. As he watched the young girl bicycling happy he discovered that he wanted a child as well. A child of their own, a child created from their love. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind and he made a decision. As she wiped her eyes and lifted herself from his arms, he took her hands in his and kissed her softly on the lips. "What do you think if I asked Lord Grantham for permission to leave for a week?", he offered her a smile.

"What? Are you sure, Charles?", she wanted so much a week alone with her husband but she didn't want to hope until it was final.

"Of course, Elsie. I would love to have a week alone with you. We could go to London, have a great time and discuss the matter of children on our last days.", he wanted so much to get away from everything for a week along with his wife. He knew that this time would be good for them and he had a few ideas about the matter of children.

"Alright but we have to ask Lord and Lady Grantham. I don't want to hope in case we can't go.", she offered him a smile and threw herself in his arms.

At the end of the same day they were at their cottage packing two suitcases for their week in London. He was so glad to see her smile and make plans for them while they were in London. After packing everything they needed, they sank into their bed exhausted and drifted off to sleep in each other arms. A week in London full of surprises would begin the next morning.

**Reviews are most welcome. I want to know what you think of this.**

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Finding the missing piece

Chapter 2: Finding the missing piece

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews, the favourites and the follows. I'm glad you like it. In the previous chapter we left Mr. and Mrs. Carson the night before they leave for London. In this chapter we are going to follow them in their week in London which is full of surprises. What's going to happen? Let's find out. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in Downton Abbey isn't mine. Only characters and situations outside of the drama are mine.**

Lord and Lady Grantham had given them their permission to have a week in London for themselves with the condition to pay for the room they would stay. At first they had refused but in the end they gave in, deciding to enjoy their free time together. Charles had taken their suitcases while Elsie had their key for their room. They were surprised when they entered their room. It was one of the most wonderful rooms they had seen in their lives. In the main room there was a large bed, even bigger than that they had in the cottage and their room at the house. A very nice and comfortable sofa with two armchairs and a low but big enough table were placed at the other side of the room where they could sit and have their tea or wine.

They saw two doors similar to the one they had just opened to enter this lovely room. As they opened the first they discovered a very luxurious bathroom with a bath tub big enough for them both. The second door was leading to the dressing room where they could put their clothes in the wardrobe and change there. As they left their things in the dressing room, they went back to the main room and looked all the room. They looked each other and made a note to thank their employers for this lovely gift.

As Elsie made her way to the balcony she was caught by her husband's arms. He turned her to face him, looked straight in her eyes for a few moments and then began kissing her passionately. At first she tried to push him away but she couldn't resist in their passion and let herself enjoy it. They broke apart breathless but with wide smiles on their faces. "I'm going to change because I would like to have a bath to relax.", she kissed him softly on the lips and made her way to the dressing room.

"I will join you, my dear.", he said with a wide smile on his face and a grin as he followed her to the dressing room.

After a while they were holding each other in the full bath tub, trying to catch their breaths after the release of their lovemaking. It was a new experience that pleased them both and decided to try it in their bathroom at the cottage. Charles started cleaning her back when he heard a sob and discovered that she was crying. "Elsie, what's the matter? Did I do something that hurt you?", he was suddenly worried that maybe making love in the bath tub was embarrassing to her and the sight of his wife crying was saddening him.

Elsie shook her head as a 'no' to his second question but didn't say anything to answer his first question. Suddenly, she felt his arms around her waist and she hesitated for a moment, but she leaned on his chest and continued crying as he was holding her. Finally after a while she had calmed down and wiped her eyes. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Charles. In one moment I was thinking about our lovemaking and the next moment I was thinking about the child I want so much, a child that may never come.", she took a deep breath to calm herself because she didn't want to start crying once more. She knew that he was worried about her and she felt sorry for that.

"Don't worry, love. If it is meant to become parents, we will but if it's not then we will protect the 'children' that are growing up under our care in Downton.", he kissed her softly on the lips. "I want too a child of our own but we can't know if it's going to happen. We'll wait and see. Please don't cry anymore, Elsie.", he held her more tightly against his chest. "Let's finish our bath, get ready to go for a nice walk and then I'll take you to one of my favourite restaurants to have dinner. Is it a good plan?", he smiled at her when she nodded.

**/-00-/**

Half an hour later they were walking in the streets of London hand in hand. He was showing and explaining to her things which she had never seen the few times she had visited London. They stopped at the shops to take a look at the dresses for the women. Charles had seen how happy she was when she was watching a particular dress and made a note in his mind to take care of something. As they were walking Elsie saw a girl going in the street to catch her ball when she noticed an automobile. She left her husband's side, took the girl in her arms and avoided last minute the automobile.

"Elsie!", Charles shouted when he saw his wife falling on the street with her face while holding the little girl.

"Rose!", a nun shouted as she run towards them.

Charles helped his wife to stand up as she helped the little girl to stand up. The nun run towards them and hugged Rose the moment she reached her. She pulled away and started checking if the girl had been hurt from the fall. Charles looked at his wife and saw that she had blood on her forehead. "Elsie! Oh my God!", he put his hand on her forehead and sighed in relief seeing that the cut wasn't very deep.

"Please come inside so I could take care of the injury.", the nun said with a worried expression and started walking with Rose as Charles and Elsie followed them. The moment they entered the orphanage, Rose run up the stairs to her room while the nun took them to her office. "Thank you so much for saving Rose, Mrs…", she stopped realizing that she didn't know the name of the lovely woman.

"Carson! Mrs. Carson!", Elsie said with a smile to her husband. "This is my husband.", she introduced him to the nun.

"I'm sister Anna.", the nun said to the couple as she finished clearing the injury.

"I'm sorry to ask but why Rose is staying here?", Charles asked very interesting in the girl.

"Rose is eight years old and she is staying here with her twin sister, Christine. Their mother died in birth and their father died while he was working. He was a fisherman and his boat sank when they were caught by a storm.", she informed them with a sad smile.

At that moment Rose entered the office and went straight to Elsie taking hold of her hand. "I want to show you my room.", the girl had a pleading smile on her face and Elsie couldn't resist.

Sister Anna looked at the scene with a smile and when they left she turned to Charles. "They came here three years ago. They have a special bond but it's difficult for them to trust other people. I can see that Mrs. Carson gained Rose's trust.", Charles smiled at the nun and a thought came to his mind.

They left the orphanage almost three hours later as Rose and Christine wanted Elsie to play with them. As they were walking back to their room to have dinner there, he saw the smile and the lovely expression in his wife's face which made him sure about the thought he had. They ate their dinner in silence and afterwards they sat in the sofa with Charles holding her in his arms for a glass of wine. He knew it was the right moment to approach the subject. "I see that you enjoyed yourself with the girls.", he began looking at the fireplace.

"Oh, yes. They are wonderful, Charles. It's sad to know that they haven't got parents or any relatives and they are staying in the orphanage.", she said in a low voice trying to hide her sadness with no succeed.

"I spoke with sister Anna about adopting them.", he was smiling widely when she jumped from her place and looked at him with widened eyes. "There won't be a problem since we work for the Crawly family.", he was serious once again. "I know how much you want a child of our own but we may never have our child. The girls haven't got parents or any relatives, so we all gain something. We gain the chance to become parents to two wonderful girls and they gain the change to have parents who will love them. What do you think, love?", he asked her with a smile but started getting worried when she didn't say a word or made a move.

Suddenly, a wide smile was on her face. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. "I will take that as a yes.", he managed to say when they pulled away to catch their breaths. They didn't say anything else. They made quick work with their clothes and soon they were making love on the sofa praying for their release. Elsie collapsed on his chest trying to catch her breath and drifted off to sleep while hearing his heartbeat. He took her in his arms and placed her gently in their bed, lied down next to her and covered their naked forms. After a few minutes he was asleep with his wife in his arms.

**Please, please review. I would like to know what you think about this chapter.**

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Afraid of

Chapter 3: Afraid of

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews, the favourites and the follows. I'm glad you like it. It was my very first idea for a story but didn't write it until now. So, in the previous chapter they met the two lovely girls and decided to adopt them. Will they be able to adopt the two girls? Will they be able to be a family? We'll find out the answer about those two questions and more in this chapter. I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in the drama isn't mine. **

The next morning they went back to the orphanage to speak with Sister Anna about the adoption. They had decided to spend as much time as they could with the two girls before they returned to Downton. Once they arrived Elsie went upstairs to see them as one of the nuns informed her that Christine had a cold while Charles followed Sister Anna to her office to speak about the adoption.

"I spoke with Mrs. Carson last night and we would like to adopt the girls. We want so much a child but we don't know if we are going to have our own child. We loved these girls from the first time. It is our chance to be parents and their chance to have parents.", he explained to the nun.

Sister Anna took a few moments to think it. She took a deep breath and looked at him. "I understand very well, Mr. Carson. I don't think there would be a problem to adopt them but it will take a few months before we have the final decision to know if you will be the parents of Rose and Christine.", she explained to him and saw the worry on his face.

As the two of them sat in the office speaking about the adoption, upstairs Elsie was placing wet flannels with cold water on Christine's hot forehead. The girl was burning up with a fever and Elsie had offered to take care of her for a while. She sighed in relief when she noticed that the fever was coming down and kissed the little girl on the forehead softly. "Thank you, mama.", Christine said in her sleep as she took hold of her hand and smiled.

Elsie tried to hold back her tears when she heard the girl calling her 'mama' but a few tears found their way out of her eyes. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and was surprised to see Rose standing next to her with a sad smile on her face. She smiled at her while she placed her hand on Christine's forehead and noticed relieved that the fever was already low. She decided to spend some time with Rose and sat with her on her bed. "Rose, I would like to ask you something.", she began a little afraid of the girl's reaction. She took a breath when the girl nodded and waited for her to continue. "Would you and your sister like to have parents?", she didn't want to ask her immediately about her and Charles thoughts of adopting them. She wanted to know first their thoughts before asking anything more.

"We would love to have parents, Mrs. Carson but no one want to adopt us.", she looked at her hands letting her tears fall. "We miss our father very much and our mother, even if we never met her.", she offered a little smile when Elsie took hold of her hand.

Elsie knew that this was the perfect moment to ask her what she wanted from the moment she saw them today. "Rose, what would you say if my husband and I become your parents?", she looked for a moment at Christine who seemed to sleep peacefully and then looked at Rose.

The girl was staring at her with wide eyes and an open mouth. Elsie was afraid that she didn't want her to become her mother but she was very surprised when she put her arms around her and kissed her on the cheek. "I would love that, Mrs. Carson.", she said when she pulled away with a smile on her face. "After you left yesterday, Christine and I talked about you and Mr. Carson. Actually, my sister said that she would like to have you as our mother and she hoped that our mother was like you.", she informed her and looked at her sister who had still the smile on her face.

Elsie smiled when she saw the gaze of the girl towards her sister that had inside the worry and the love. "My husband is downstairs with Sister Anna talking about adopting you. We would like very much to become your parents.", she was very happy when the girl hugged her once more.

After a while Charles joined them in the room where along with his wife and Rose talked about many things, including the adoption. They were happy to see that Christine was much better and she had woken up to talk with them. Charles informed her about their plans and she was excited about having them as parents. Although, he explained to… his three girls that this matter will take a few months to be over and know if they can be a family at last.

**/-00-/**

They walked hand in hand back to their room in silence. He had noticed the worry in her face and he wished he could do something to know that they were going to become the girls' parents. He wanted so much to see his wife happy, not sad and worried like now. As they were sitting in the sofa of their room sipping their wine in each other's arms, he was imagining how their life could be if in the end Rose and Christine became their daughters.

"Chares?", he was brought out of his thoughts when he heard her calling him. "What were you thinking, love?", she was watching him with interest.

"I was imagining our life if in the end Rose and Christine become our daughters. I know how much you want them to be our daughters and I want it very much, as well. I want us to be happy Elsie, but it pains me to see the worry on your face.", he caressed her face with his thumb. "What can I do to make you feel better?", he was looking her straight in the eyes.

She took a few moments to think about it and then turned to face him with her loveliest looks. "Make love to me, Charles.", she was staring at him and he couldn't deny her anything.

She leaned forward slowly and placed her lips on his slowly kissing him passionately. He put his arms around her without pressuring her, he let her take the lead tonight. He was going to make love to her slowly and gently because he wanted to show her how much he loved her. They broke apart breathless trying to calm down and catch their breaths. After a few moments, she took his hand and stood up from the couch. They walked together towards the bed as she let him take off her clothes while she was taking care of taking off his clothes.

Slowly he started working on the buttons of her beige silk blouse that was making her look so beautiful while she started working on the buttons of his shirt. His hands went to the buttons and zipper of her skirt behind her as her blouse and his shirt were lying on the carpet behind them. As her skirt fell on the carpet next to her blouse, he lifted her a little and placed her back down away from their clothes. They stepped out of their shoes while his hands were working on her corset which after a minute was lying as well on the carpet. All the while they didn't stop staring each other in their eyes or kissing passionately. Next were her shift and his trousers which were lying on the floor. They walked towards the bed as he was kissing her lips, her neck. She was wearing only her knickers and her stockings while he was wearing his pants and his shocks. Slowly without stopping his attentions to her lips or neck, he placed her in the middle of their large four-poster bed.

He started giving attention to her breasts, sucking and kissing them hard. Then he made his way until he reached her knickers. His hands loosed the two ribbons that were holding them and pulled them slowly off of her body. He turned his attentions to her stockings, taking them off slowly first the one and then the other. Now she was lying on the bed with her gorgeous body naked in front of her husband's eyes. He made his way with kisses to her lips and kissed her passionately. She could feel the fire of desire building in side of her and the wetness in her center. She wanted so much to feel him inside of her but she knew that this night it was going to be slow and gentle as it was their first night together three months ago.

As he was kissing her, her hands went to his pants and started pulling them off of his body. He stopped kissing her, quickly taking off his pants and shocks and threw them in the air finding their way at the pool of clothes on the carpet. He started once more kissing her lips, her cheeks, her neck and her breasts. His right hand traveled down to her center and entered two fingers inside of her. He became more aroused when he heard her groan in pleasure. He was so glad to know that he was the one to do that to her. He knew as he moved his hand against her that she was ready for him and his actions wasn't helping him either. He took out his fingers and moved his body on top of her gorgeous body. Slowly in one long thrust he entered her while the room was filled with groans and moans of pleasure. They started moving in a slow, gentle and steady rhythm. His gaze never left her own as he was making love to her slowly and gentle. They moved faster as they were nearing their climax and found their release together with each other's name in their lips as Charles spilled himself inside of her.

After a few moments of staying together and kissing softly, he moved so he could lie next to her. After covering their naked forms, he pulled her in his arms and soon they drifted off to sleep dreaming about their life with their daughters. Somehow he knew that in the end they would be happy with their children. A smile appeared in each face meaning that their dreams were happy ones.

**Please, please, please review. I would like to know what you think of this chapter. The last part is something that I haven't written so far in my life and I hope I did it well.**

**To Be Continued…**


	4. Return, Waiting and Decision

Chapter 4: Return, Waiting and Decision

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews. I want so much to reply but I don't have much time. In the previous chapter we saw how happy Charles, Elsie and the girls were for the adoption but we don't know yet if in the end they will be a family. I hope you like it as much as I do. I'm enjoying writing this story and it's one of my favourites. **

**Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in the drama isn't mine. **

It was their last day in London and they wanted to spend it as enjoyable as they could. The next morning they had to catch the train to go back to Downton. They wanted to spend as much time as they could with the two girls and decided to ask if they could take them for a walk. As they walked from their room to the orphanage hand in hand they had smiles on their faces. Charles had discovered that she was more beautiful when she smiled.

Sister Anna gave them the permission to take the girl for a walk with the condition to bring them back in time for dinner. Rose and Christine were jumping up and down from excitement when the nun informed them. They started walking in the streets of London with the two girls between them. A few couples had complimented them about their beautiful daughters and neither said anything to correct them because they liked this thought.

They arrived at a park where other children were playing and let the twins to go and play with the other children. They sat down on a bench looking at them with wide smiles on their faces. She had begun dreaming about a family of their own when he proposed to her. She loved Sybil very much but she wasn't her daughter and this made her think about children of her own. Somehow when she had seen that automobile going towards Rose she had felt like she was her own child and she needed to protect her which caused her to do what she had done. She turned to look at her husband and saw him watching the girls playing happily with the other children. She placed a soft kiss on his lips and sat closer to him. "They seem very happy, Charles.", she had a sad smile on her face that didn't pass unnoticed from him.

"Yes, they are happy.", he had seen the sad smile. "What's wrong, love?", he was sure that he knew the answer but he needed her to open up to him.

"I don't know, Charles. It's just that… I loved these girls from the moment I saw them. I gained their trust and they want us to be a real family but…", she trailed off and took a deep breath to hold back her tears. "What if we don't get them in the end? Sister Anna told me that they began smiling again when they met us. If we don't become a family, it will hurt them so much.", she couldn't hold back her tears anymore and she started crying in his arms.

"I know what you mean, my love. It will hurt all of us if that happens but we must have faith. I believe that these two lovely girls were sent to our path to stay forever with us.", he watched how her face lit up with his remark. He held her closer to him and kissed her on the lips softly because they were in public and in front of children. From the corner of his eye he saw the girls coming to them. "Wipe your eyes before the girls see you.", he whispered to her ear as he handed her his handkerchief.

Rose and Christine had noticed as they were playing that Elsie was crying in her husband's arms and decided to go to see what had happened. "What happened? Are you alright, Mrs. Carson?", Rose asked with concern in her voice and face.

"As we were playing we saw you crying and were worried that something happened.", Christine explained to them with as much concern in her voice and face as her sister.

"Nothing happened, girls. I'm just very emotional lately but there is nothing to be worried about.", Elsie smiled at them reassuring them that everything was fine.

"I have an idea.", he looked from his wife to his… the girls. "Are you hungry, girls?", he chuckled when they nodded quickly. "Alright then. Let's go for lunch and then for some desert.", he helped Elsie to stand up from the bench and they walked to one of the restaurant's he went during his free time when he was in London for the season.

**/-00-/**

They had a very nice lunch and desert in the restaurant. After that they went for a walk looking at the shops and talking about many things. After arriving at the orphanage they said good-bye to the girls and left for their room. Elsie hoped that this wasn't the last time she saw them, she hoped that the four of them would become a family in the end. They packed all their things and slept early because they had to wake up early to catch the train.

It felt a little weird when the train arrived at Downton's train station. Lord Grantham had sent the chauffeur to pick them up from the station. Elsie was very grateful at that because she was feeling tired and she didn't know if she could manage to walk all the way to the house. Once they arrived they went to their room to change to their work clothes and as Elsie went to her sitting room, Charles went to speak with Lord Grantham about the adoption.

Robert and Cora had understood completely the reasons for them to adopt the two girls and felt very happy for them. Robert reassured him that he would do his best to take care of the matter and inform them about the final decision. Later the same day he informed them that the whole process would take a few months and then they would know the final decision.

They had an early night because they were very tired from the trip and the work at the house. As Elsie opened her eyes when the rays of the sun hit her face she put her hand on her mouth and got out of the bed immediately. This sudden moving woke up Charles who was a little confused but got out of bed quickly when he heard his wife vomiting in their bathroom. He was worried with the sight he saw as he entered the bathroom. Elsie was leaning her head on the wall trying to calm down but soon she was leaning over the toilet losing what was left in her stomach. He walked towards her, hold up her hair and rubbed softly her back.

She leaned her head on the wall for a few moments to calm down and then tried to stand up but the dizziness wasn't helping. He helped her stand up and put an arm around her waist to support her. He was taken by surprise when he felt a sudden weight on his arm and discovered that it was his wife who had fainted. He picked her up in his arms quickly and placed her softly back on the bed. He put on his dressing gown and left the room to send for the doctor. He had seen that she wasn't feeling very well lately but thought that it was from her worry about the adoption.

He asked Anna to bring the doctor upstairs to the room when he arrived at the house and he went quickly to his wife. As he leaned over to cover her with the covers he noticed that she was bleeding and this worried him very much. He watched her face making expressions of pain and he didn't know that to do to help her. Fortunately, doctor Clarkson arrived a few minutes later at the house. He asked him to wait outside the room as he examined the housekeeper to see what was happening. Anna had stayed outside with the butler worried about the older woman and in case the doctor needed something.

Charles was passing back and forth outside the room waiting with worry for the doctor to inform him about what was happening with his wife. He stopped in his track when he heard the door opening and made his way quickly towards the doctor. "What's wrong with my wife, doctor?", he was worried and the sad expression on the doctor's face wasn't helping him.

Richard lifted his head and looked from Anna to Charles. He could see how worried they were for the housekeeper. He took a deep breath before talking to the butler. "I am sorry, Mr. Carson! Mrs. Carson lost the baby.", he informed with sadness in his voice.

He saw how they widened their eyes and their mouths dropped open in shock. "What? Elsie was pregnant?", he managed to ask after the first shock had gone.

"Yes, she was two months pregnant. I gather that neither Mrs. Carson nor you knew that she was pregnant.", he understood the shocked faces when Charles nodded lightly in agreement. "She has to stay in bed for three-four days to recover completely from the miscarriage.", he informed them and saw the worry written on Charles' face.

"Will she be able to get pregnant again?", he wanted to know if there was a chance for them having their own child or the girls were going to be their only children.

"She will be able to get pregnant again but she will have to stay in bed during her pregnancy. She will have difficult pregnancy and her age won't help on the matter but if she gets pregnant she will have to stay in bed in order to give birth to a living and healthy child.", he hated to deliver such news to a husband but he needed to know the truth in case the woman would get pregnant in the future. "I have to go to the hospital but I'll be back in the evening to check on her. She has to rest and eat properly in order to recover completely.", he added finally and left for the hospital.

**/-00-/**

Anna had offered to stay with the housekeeper and take care of her while Charles went to inform Lord and Lady Grantham and take over her duties until Elsie would be able to work again in a few days. Cora was very sad to hear the news while Robert reassured him that he would do his best so they could adopt the two girls. He knew what his butler was going through as he imagined how sad and devastated would be if something like that happened to his Cora.

Elsie had cried herself to sleep when her husband informed her about the miscarriage and what the doctor had said exactly. He went back to his work knowing that Anna would take care of his wife because he needed something to distract him for the events of the day. It was going to be difficult for them especially since they didn't know that they were going to be parents but the baby was gone before they had the chance to know.

They decided to put this behind them but they would never forget about the chance they had lost. The only thing that made them happy and dream for a happy life was the adoption of the girls. They knew that Robert was making his best to make sure that they would adopt them but it wasn't so easy. They made love again a month after that day. Elsie wasn't ready for it and Charles didn't want to pressure her or hurt her. They just waited for the right time and it had finally come one evening as they were having a glass of wine in her sitting room. They continued spending time together, taking walks in the gardens of the estate, courting like before they got married and slowly they got back to their life together.

The days were passing, sometimes slowly sometimes quickly and it made them worry about losing a second chance to become parents, to have a family of their own. Almost three months had passed since they returned from that week in London. Elsie was helping a new housemaid to get used to the work by showing her. Charles was busy in his pantry checking over the lists of the wines they had in the wine cellar. As he was checking over one of the lists he was informed by a footman that Robert wanted to see him in the library. Charles stopped what he was doing and went upstairs.

"Carson, I wanted to see you for something very important. They send this letter and I believe it's the final decision about the adoption of the twins.", he handed the letter to the butler.

Charles stood still looking at the letter in his hands for a few moments and upon looking Robert who was very impatient to know the decision, he opened the letter. "Oh my God! We are the parents of Rose and Christine… Carson.", he looked up at Robert with a wide smile on his face.

"Congratulations, Carson. I am very happy for you and Mrs. Carson. I know that you are going to be wonderful parents to the girls.", he said as he shook his hand. "Go find Mrs. Carson. You have the day off to go to London and come back tomorrow with your… daughters.", he smiled widely at the man who had been serving his family for thirty years now.

"Thank you very much, Milord.", Charles nodded at Robert and left quickly in search of his wife. She was going to be very happy with this news. He was very grateful that Lord Grantham gave them the day off to go to London and come back tomorrow with their… daughters.

**Please, please, please review. I would like to know what you think of this chapter. (I'm working on the third chapter of the story 'What happens next?'. I hope it will be ready until Saturday so I can update it!)**

**To Be Continued…**


	5. A happy family

Chapter 5: A happy family

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews! There are helping me move on with this story! In the previous chapter we learnt happy and sad news. Elsie was pregnant but didn't know it until she had a miscarriage. They were informed that they were officially the parents of Rose and Christine. What life keeps in store for the Carsons? Let's find out. A long chapter this time. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in the drama isn't mine. **

Sister Anna was glad that a very lovely and caring couple as the Carsons became the parents of Rose and Christine. She loved those girls very much and wanted them to be happy. The two girls were jumping up and down from the excitement when the nun informed them about the final decision. They had gone to their room and started making plans and dreams about their new life with their parents. They believed that their parents from heaven had sent the lovely couple to become their parents for the rest of their lives.

Once they arrived at London's train station they walked quickly to the orphanage. Sister Anna took them to her office to make sure everything was alright to take the girls and let them stay for the night with the girls. She sent a nun to fetch the girls from their room and bring them to her office. Charles and Elsie were waiting patiently for the girls to arrive, so they could hug them. Their arms were filled with their… daughters as soon as they entered the room. Sister Anna and the younger nun were watching the lovely with smiles and tears on their faces.

The four of them started making plans for their lives as a family back at Downton. They explained to them everything about their work at the house and how they were living. Late in the evening Elsie was sleeping with Rose in her arms in one bed while Charles was sleeping with Christine in his arms in the other bed. In the morning they had breakfast together, packed the few things the girls had and left to catch the train promising to Sister Anna to visit her whenever they could. Once they arrived at Downton along with their daughters they started walking on the path to the big house.

As they were approaching the front door of the house, Charles saw the three young ladies running towards them. They all came to a stop without saying a word. Charles looked from his daughters to the three young ladies and smiled. "Lady Mary, Lady Edith, Lady Sybil we would like you to meet our daughters Rose and Christine Carson.", he introduced them and smiled at his wife when their daughters greeted politely and correct the young ladies.

"I am very happy for you. We saw you coming from the window in the library.", Mary said with a wide smile.

"Papa sent us to fetch so they could meet Rose and Christine.", Edith explained to them.

"After that we would like to show you something before you go downstairs to introduce them to the staff.", Sybil added and looked very happy.

The Carson family followed the young ladies into the house and in the library where Robert and Cora were happy to meet the two girls that had stolen the heart of their butler and housekeeper. The three girls were laughing and smiling as they took the two younger girls by the hand while the adults followed them closely. Finally they reached the bedroom next to the bedroom Elsie and Charles had been offered from the family for when they stayed at the house. Mary opened the door so they could enter the room. Charles and Elsie were very surprised by the room. It was painted with two shades of pink and two shades of purple. In one side of the room in the middle were two beds with one night table each while in each end of the side was a brown desk and a chair. In the other side of the room there was a table with two chairs and a corner with toys.

Robert and Cora were happy when they saw the wide smiles and happy faces. "This is the bedroom were the girls will stay when you stay in the house. The other bedroom in your cottage is similar to this one. It is our gift for these lovely two girls.", Robert informed them and nodded reassuringly at Charles.

"Thank you, Milord. I am sure that the girls will enjoy their new bedrooms very much.", Elsie said as she smiled down at her daughters.

"We thought that they could go to school in the village. Each girl has her own desk to write and read for their school.", Cora explained to them as she looked her daughters showing the room at the two girls. She was sure the five girls would become great friends and she didn't mind their different class. Neither the one couple nor the other had said anything about Elsie's miscarriage to their daughters. There would be no point in making them sad after seeing how happy they were.

**/-00-/**

The Crawly family left to leave the Carson family alone in the twins' bedroom. The two girls with the help of their parents put their things away in their places and stayed there playing with their new toys while their parents went to change for their work. It was a little weird to see them wearing those clothes but both girls agreed that the dark blue dress was making their mother more beautiful because of her blue eyes.

Elsie and Charles took their daughters from their bedroom and headed downstairs to introduce them to the rest of the staff. They were a little nervous but they were sure that they would love them as much as they loved them. Beryl was making something special knowing that her friends would return with their daughters. She left what she was doing to Daisy as she heard their familiar steps and went to greet them at the bottom of the stairs.

They smiled as they saw Beryl waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs with a wide smile on her face. They looked each other and then at their daughters. As they reached the bottom they walked away from the stairs. "Beryl, I would like you to meet our daughters Rose and Christine.", Elsie said with a wide smile on her face. "Girls, this is Mrs. Patmore and is the cook.", she chuckled at the look the older woman had on her face.

The two girls extended their hands to greet the cook. "It's a pleasure to meet you, girls. You can call me Aunt Beryl if there is no problem with your parents.", she looked at her two friends who pretended to be shocked but soon they started laughing.

"There is no problem with us, Beryl.", Charles informed the cook as they calmed down from their laughter.

"What's happening here?", the girls hide behind their parents as they turned around to see who had asked. The three adults knew that the girls may not like Thomas and weren't very surprised by their reaction upon seeing him.

"Mr. Barrow could you please wait for us in the servant's hall along with the other staff?", Charles took the lead to ease the tension. He turned to look at the cook. "Mrs. Patmore could you gather the rest of the staff at the servant's hall and wait for us there?", he asked gently because he didn't want to show his anger in front of his daughters.

The cook nodded her head and entered the kitchen to gather her staff at the servant's hall and then gather the others. Charles and Elsie took their daughters in his pantry and explained to them quickly about how they would be treated in front of everyone and how they would be treated when they were alone. Charles took Rose by the hand and left his pantry as Elsie took Christine by the hand and followed them to the servant's hall. Only Beryl knew that the butler and the housekeeper were planning to adopt two girls, so the others looked surprised, shocked and confused when they saw their two heads of the staff entering the room with two unknown girls.

Neither Charles nor Elsie stopped holding their daughters' hands as they stood in front of everyone. They looked each other for a moment before they turned their heads to look at the staff. Charles took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "As you know Mrs. Carson and I are married for six months now. As we don't know if we are going to have children of our own, we decided to adopt a child but during our visit in London three months ago we met these two girls and decided to adopt them. I would like to introduce you our daughters, Rose and Christine Carson.", he let out a breath he was holding as he spoke to them.

They were looking at the surprised and shocked faces of the staff while Beryl was smiling. They were all standing in the servant's hall in silence. "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Carson! I'm so happy for you and the girls.", it was Anna who broke the silence as she walked towards them and hugged the housekeeper while smiling warmly at the girls. One by one started congratulating them as if Anna had broken the ice. After all the staff, even Thomas and Ms. O'Brien, congratulated them they sent them back to their works. Charles went to his pantry as Elsie took the girls with her and asked Anna to follow her in the sitting room.

Elsie closed the door as the two girls and Anna were there. She walked towards the twins and stood between them. "Girls, I would like you to meet Anna. She is the head housemaid and a very lovely young woman.", she smiled at Anna.

"It's very nice to meet you, girls. I will be happy to help you with whatever you want.", she said softly to them.

The girls smiled widely at the young woman and laughed. Elsie was so happy to see the smile on her daughters' faces. She was happy to have them with her especially after her miscarriage three months ago. As Anna left to return to her work, Elsie asked them to sit at the settee drawing because she had some paper work to do and promised to show them the house as soon as she would finish with her work.

**/-00-/**

Four months had passed since the day Elsie and Charles returned to Downton along with their daughters. The days had passed so quickly for all of them, both upstairs and downstairs. Rose and Christine had brought the laughter and the smile downstairs and they all seemed to be very grateful for that. Mary, Edith and Sybil were often downstairs to take Rose and Christine so they would all go outside and play. A week after their arrival at Downton they started going to the school which was something the loved very much. They would do their homework and study for the next day as soon as they got back from school. Some days if they didn't have anything to do they were helping their aunt Beryl in the kitchen.

It was already July and the girls had stopped the school for the summer holidays. Together with the Crawly girls they would go out in the gardens of the estate to play or to ride their bicycles. The young ladies had been very patient in helping the twins to learn how to ride a bicycle. Elsie and Charles had surprised them with two wonderful bicycles so they could go for a ride in the summer. In one week the twins had their birthdays number nine and their parents were organizing a surprise for them. The family had been very glad to be able to help them for their surprise.

Charles, Christine and Rose had noticed that Elsie wasn't feeling very well the last few days but they thought that it was a common summer cold and she would be alright in a few days. They had decided to spend their weekends at their cottage while the other five days they would stay at the house. Elsie opened her eyes as the rays of the sun hit her face and enlightened the room. Suddenly her eyes widened and she put her hand on her mouth as she got out of the bed quickly and rushed to the bathroom.

Charles woke up by the sudden movement on the bed and opened his eyes in confusion. He got worried when he heard something from the bathroom and saw that his wife wasn't lying next to him. He got out of bed quickly and rushed to the bathroom. As he entered the room, his heart sank a little at the sight in front of him. Elsie was sitting on the floor and she was leaning back on the wall with her eyes closed and took deep breaths. "Elsie?", he said her name softly but with concern in his voice.

As she opened her eyes to look at him, she sat up quickly and leaned over the toilet once more losing the contents of her stomach. He was at her side at once holding up her hair and rubbing soothingly her back in a desperate need to help her to feel better. She collapsed back on the floor with her back and her head leaning on the wall. She had her eyes closed and was taking deep breaths to calm down. She knew how worried her husband must be. "I will send for the doctor to come and check on you.", he stood up and was ready to leave the room when her hand grasped his to stop him.

"No, I don't want the doctor. I'll be fine, love. It's only a summer cold, Charles. I will lie down for a while to rest and I'll be fine.", she opened her eyes to look at him and saw the concern in his eyes but she didn't want to ruin her weekend with her husband and her daughters, especially if the doctor would order her to stay in bed. She tried to stand up but the dizziness wasn't helping her at all. "Charles, please take me back to the bed.", she was pleading him.

He finally gave in and picked her up in his arms after noticing that she couldn't stand up by herself. He went back to their bedroom, placed her softly on the bed and covered her. "I will go to wash and get dressed before going to make breakfast for us and the girls. Sleep for a while and I will wake you up when the breakfast is ready.", he kissed her on the lips and went back to the bathroom after picking up his clothes for the day.

Elsie offered him a small weak smile and closed her eyes; soon she drifted off to sleep. She didn't want to admit it but she wasn't feeling very well the last few days. She made the decision to go and see the doctor on Monday morning after leaving her daughters at the school. She woke up almost two hours later with kisses on her cheeks. As she opened her eyes and sat up on the bed, she smiled seeing her husband and daughters with her while Charles had prepared a very nice breakfast. She had to admit that she was rather hungry now. They had a very nice family breakfast in bed.

**/-00-/**

It was Saturday, a week later and it was the twins' birthday. Their parents along with the family had prepared a very nice surprise for them. The surprised would take place at the Carsons' cottage late in the morning. This gave time to Elsie and Charles to give their daughters another little surprise. They woke up early in the morning, had washed and got dressed. Elsie took the small birthday cake she had prepared with Beryl's help while the big birthday cake was hidden for the big surprise later in the morning.

They opened the door of the girls' bedroom slowly and entered without making any noise to disturb them. Elsie placed the cake on the night table between the two beds. She sat on Christine's bed while Charles sat on Rose's bed. They kissed their daughters on their cheeks and when they had opened their eyes, they wished them for their birthday. The girls were very happy with that detail and hugged their parents. Together they ate a little from the cake and kept the rest of it for later.

Charles went to make them breakfast as Elsie helped their daughters to get dressed with their new dresses. She was wondering how they will react about their surprise later. After eating their breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen they sat outside in the garden to enjoy the lovely day of July. Elsie went back to the house to open the door when she heard a knock. She returned in the garden with Beryl and Anna following her. They girls excited that they had come hugged them and kissed them. After a while Robert, Cora and their daughters arrived at the cottage giving the girls a very nice surprise.

After cutting the big birthday cake and eating the lunch Elsie and Beryl had made the previous day, the girls opened their presents. First, they opened the Crawlys' present. It was a big colorful box and inside it had four notebooks for school and some books for children. Then, they opened Anna's present. She had bought them two books that could become their personal diary. Then, they opened Beryl's present. She had bought them a few materials for clothes, two sketch books and crayons so they could draw. Finally, the opened their parents' presents. They were so excited when they discovered what the two boxes had inside. The day they had gone for a walk in London, the girls had seen two lovely dolls but couldn't have them. Charles and Elsie knew how much their daughters wanted these dolls, so Charles had gone to London almost two weeks ago and bought them for their birthday. Rose and Christine stood up immediately, hugged and thanked their parents. Along with the three young ladies they went to play and ride their bicycles while they left the adults to talk.

Elsie had another surprise for everyone and she knew that it was the perfect time for it. Charles purred more wine into everyone's glasses but when he reached his wife she refused kindly. She was so happy to see her daughters playing with those three young ladies. Elsie saw the perfect opportunity when Robert, Cora, Beryl and Anna were focused on their conversation. She sat closer to her husband and kissed him on the lips. "Charles, I need to tell you something.", she said in a low voice so only him could hear. "I went to see doctor Clarkson on Monday.", she noticed how he turned to look at her worried.

"What's the matter, love? Is something wrong?", he asked in a low voice but with concern in his voice.

"No, love. Nothing is wrong. You have nothing to worry about.", she smiled at him. "Charles… I'm… pregnant.", she finally told him with a wide smile on her face.

He looked at her surprised with wide eyes and his mouth open. He was standing very still looking at her. "Oh my God!", he managed to say as the first shock had gone and in a rather loud voice which caused the other four adults to look at him. "Are you sure?", he asked her while he couldn't believe it.

Elsie laughed with his question and smiled at him. "Of course I'm sure, Charles. Doctor Clarkson confirmed it.", she continued to laugh.

Charles pulled her in his arms and kissed her passionately. Their pulled away a few moments later breathless. "You make me so happy, Elsie.", he kissed her once more but this time softly.

"Would you care to enlighten us?", Beryl asked rather upset and curious looking at them.

Elsie and Charles turned to look at them and smiled. "We are going to have a baby.", Charles announced happy while holding his wife close to him.

They chuckled upon seeing the surprised faces. One by one congratulated them and wished them the best for their family. "How long you know it?", Beryl asked her friend after they had sat back down.

"I went to see doctor Clarkson on Monday and he told me that I was pregnant on Tuesday through a letter.", she smiled at her husband and kissed him softly. "I'm three months pregnant and I'll have to stay in bed during my pregnancy but he gave me permission for these days because I wanted it to be a surprise. That's why I didn't work so much the last days.", she looked at Charles who was worried about her but was smiling reassuringly.

"You don't have to worry about that, Mrs. Carson.", Cora said to her housekeeper. "I'm sure that Carson and Anna can take over for you until the baby is born. You could help them if they have any problem but only if you stay in bed without protests.", she looked at the older woman knowingly and smiled reassuringly.

"Cora is absolutely right. I would suggest to stay in the house during the pregnancy so you would be able to help, from your room, in case there is a problem.", Robert said very serious.

Elsie and Charles looked each other for a few moments and then turned to look at their employers. "We will stay in the house during Elsie's pregnancy and she will help, if there is any problem, without getting out of bed.", Charles informed them.

They continued talking about the baby and many other things until it started getting dark outside. Everyone left for the house leaving the Carson family alone to rest. They had decided to inform the girls about the pregnancy the following day. That night Charles showed his wife how much he loved her and was happy that finally they would have their own child and their daughters were going to have a little brother or sister.

**Please, please, please review. I would like to know what you think of this chapter. Next chapter the reaction of Rose and Christine at the new of Elsie's pregnancy.**

**To Be Continued…**


	6. Afraid of not being loved

Chapter 6: Afraid of not being loved

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews. They are very encouraging in writing this story. In the previous chapter we saw how the Carson family adjusted to their new life together and Elsie informed Charles that they were going to have a baby. How the twins will react to the news of Elsie's pregnancy? Let's find out. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in the drama isn't mine.**

The rays of the sun were enlightening the whole room. Elsie opened her eyes as the rays' warmth touched her face and found her husband awake staring at her with a smile on his face. She smiled as he leaned down and kissed her on the lips. It was their routine from the first morning as a married couple. He lied back down taking her in his arms and placed a hand on her stomach. "I'm so happy, Elsie. We have two wonderful daughters and soon we are going to have a baby. The girls will be so happy to have a little sister or brother to play and teach.", he placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "You will stay in bed today as tomorrow we will go to the house where we will stay until the baby is born.", he was serious and didn't hear her protests.

"We have to tell the girls about the baby and why we will stay in the house until I give birth.", she was a little worried about that because she wanted to have a healthy child and her difficult pregnancy along with her age wasn't helping. "Why don't you go to wash and when the girls are awake you can bring them here to have breakfast in bed, then we could tell them the news.", she placed her hand on top of his on her stomach.

"That's a nice idea, love.", he smiled at her. "I will go wash up, then make breakfast and wake the girls.", he kissed her once more as he got out of the bed and entered the bathroom.

Elsie smiled at her husband and closed her eyes, within seconds she was asleep again. She didn't notice how the time passed as she woke up with kisses on her cheeks almost an hour later. She sat up and arranged the pillows for her back. They had a nice family breakfast at bed while talking and laughing. "Your mother and I have something to tell you, girls.", Charles said to his daughters as they had finished their breakfast.

Elsie saw how her daughters sat up quickly and looked at them with worried faces. She was wondering why they were worried. "Rose. Christine. In six months you are going to have a little brother or sister.", Elsie was worried about their reaction and their worried faces and it sounded in her voice as she told them about her pregnancy.

"We are going to have a little brother or sister?", Christine asked excitedly her parents. She hugged them and kissed them when they nodded their heads in agreement. Rose hugged and kissed her parents after her sister but she didn't have the excitement that her sister had.

The two girls looked more worried at their parents as they explained to them why they were going to stay at the house and all about their mother's pregnancy. Christine promised to help them with everything she could and Rose only nodded her head in agreement.

**/-00-/**

Two weeks had passed since the twins' birthday and the announcement of Elsie's pregnancy. They had taken some things from the cottage with them at the house. Elsie wanted to work in her sitting room but they didn't let her do anything. Charles had announced at the staff about what was happening. They all promised to do their bests to help until the baby was born and the housekeeper was back to her work.

Anna had gone a few times in the beginning to Elsie's room to help her in some things about the work she had to do. Elsie helped her and gave her some advice that she was going to need for the next six months. Charles knew some things about his wife's work so he offered his help whenever he could. Anna was glad that she had two very kind seniors and she was sure that she was going to learn a lot from them.

Charles made sure that every other day the girls could have their lunch with their mother at her bedroom and the dinner in the servant's hall while the other days they could have their lunch in the servant's hall and the dinner with their mother. It was one of the days that the girls were going to have lunch in their mother's bedroom. Charles was occupied at his pantry busy with some very important papers, Anna was doing the rounds to check that everything was in order and Beryl was busy making the dinner.

Elsie was in her room reading a book, that she had bought before she learnt about her pregnancy and now it was the perfect time to read it as she had to stay in bed. She placed her book on her lap when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in.", she called out and made sure her hair was alright. She knew that she was in bed rest but she didn't want her daughters or her husband or any other visitor to see her in a mess. She opened her arms as she saw Christine running to her. She hugged her tightly and kissed her. "Where is Rose?", she asked her daughter as she scanned the room to find her other daughter.

"What do you mean, mama?", Christine was looking at her mother in confusion. "Rose left earlier from school because she complained that she had a stomachache.", she informed her mother and saw the worry on her face. "Mama, what are you doing?", she asked her worried as Elsie threw back the covers and got out of the bed.

"I have to speak with your father, Christine.", Elsie was very worried about her daughter and she needed to find her. She put on her dressing gown and her slippers. She walked quickly out of the room with Christine following her.

Charles was ready to shout at the person who had opened his pantry door without knocking but was shocked to see his wife standing in front of him with worry written all over her face and his daughter with flushed cheeks. "What's wrong? Elsie what are you doing here?", he was becoming very upset with her as she knew that she had to follow the doctor's orders.

"What am I doing here, Charles?", her voice was full of anger and worry. "Christine came to our room as it's the day they have lunch with me and when I asked about Rose, she told me that Rose had left earlier from the school because she complained about a stomachache.", she was shouting now in hysteria.

"What?", he now understood his wife's worry. "Rose didn't come back here or at least I didn't see her.", his mind started wondering as to where his daughter was. "Elsie, please sit down and Christine stay with your mother.", he told seriously at Elsie and stormed out of his pantry.

After fifteen minutes he came back to his pantry with flushed cheeks and the worry written all over his face. "No one has seen Rose. That means that Rose didn't come here after she left the school.", he informed his wife and daughter. "Christine, do you have any idea where your sister might be?", he was very worried now about his daughter and even worried about how it will affect Elsie all this.

They two adults got more worried as their daughter shook her head. "Charles, you have to find Rose. You have to find our daughter.", she was hysterical now. Beryl and Anna were standing in the doorway watching the scene. "She is nine years old. Where did she go, Charles? You have to…", she didn't manage to complete her sentence as she fell on the floor unconscious.

Charles run quickly to his wife's side very worried and picked her up in his arms. As he turned to leave the room he noticed the two women looking at him concerned. "Anna, please send Brand to fetch the doctor as quickly as possible.", he left his pantry quickly leaving Christine and Beryl alone. Beryl hugged the girl as she noticed that she was crying.

Soon the whole family and the staff were searching Rose everywhere near the estate while Christine stayed back to take care of her mother who was sleeping. She couldn't understand what happened that caused her sister to lie and leave the school without saying anything.

It was getting darker outside which caused everyone to get more worried about Rose. At some point they all got back to the house trying to decide what to do next. Charles wanted to keep searching for his daughter; he couldn't stay at home waiting for the day to come while she was outside somewhere. Robert didn't want to leave him alone, so he decided to go with him in the search while the others stayed back in case Rose came back at some point.

Anna kept turning on her bed as she couldn't sleep at all from the concern about the girl. She loved the girls like they were her younger sisters and she was very worried. She decided to get dressed again in her work clothes and went downstairs to have a cup of tea. She wasn't surprised at all to find the cook in the kitchen with a cup in front of her. She made her tea and sat beside the older woman. After a while she decided to go outside to take some air and left the cook in the kitchen.

As she started walking in the courtyard she heard someone crying. She followed slowly the sound as not to disturb the person who was crying. As she neared she noticed that it was Rose who was sitting on the ground crying. She left as she had come unnoticed and returned a few minutes later with Beryl following her. They walked slowly towards the girl without making any noise. The two women sat in front of her without saying a word. Rose felt that someone was looking at her and raised her head. She was ready to stand up and leave when she discovered who had found her but a hand from her aunt and a hand from her… older sister stopped her.

"Rose? Why did you do that, love?", Beryl asked in a low and soft voice her niece. After a few moments of silence, Rose was in her aunt's arms crying loudly. Beryl started rocking her back and forth while Anna was rubbing soothing circles on her back. After a while the sobs had subsided but Rose didn't want to leave her aunt's embrace. "Rose, what happened? Please, talk to us.", she was confused and worried about the girl.

Rose pulled back from her aunt, looked them for a moment and took a deep breath. "They won't love me now that they are going to have a baby.", she finally said. "They adopt me and Christine because they couldn't have children but now they are going to have a baby and they won't love me.", she started crying again and Beryl pulled her in her arms once more.

"Oh, Rose! Of course they will love you. They are going to have a baby but that doesn't mean that they will stop loving you.", Rose started crying again and Beryl tightened her arms around her.

After a while Rose had calmed down. "Mama has to stay in bed until the baby is born otherwise she may lose the baby. I don't want mama to die, aunt Beryl. I don't want to lose my mother for a second time.", the girl looked down at her hands.

The two women shared a knowing look and then turned to look at Rose who was still looking down. "Rose, just listen to me.", Beryl said and Rose immediately raised her head to look at her aunt. "They wanted and want a child of their own. Your mother was so sad that she may not have a child of her own, that you father decided to take her for a week in London. There they met you and your sister. She was so happy when they came back to Downton. They were making plans for you without knowing yet if they were going to finally adopt you.", she stopped and looked at her own hands now. "Rose, the day after they arrived at Downton your mother had a miscarriage.", Beryl looked at the girl in front of her.

"What's a miscarriage?", she was confused and worried about her mother.

"A miscarriage is when a woman is pregnant but loses the baby before it is born. No one, not even her, knew that she was pregnant but she lost the baby. The doctor said that it was caused because she was having a difficult pregnancy. That's why she has to stay in bed now until the baby is born, so the baby will be born alive and healthy.", she noticed how the girl's face was a little wet with a few tears.

"You have to remember something, Rose.", Anna broke the silence between them. "Even when she lost the baby they didn't stop the adoption, they continued to make plans about you and Christine. She was so happy when she announced her pregnancy at your birthday, they were happy to have a baby and that you will have a little brother or sister to play, to teach things. They wanted to keep the news a secret until the next day because they wanted you to have your special day.", she pulled the girl in her arms as she started crying once more.

"Rose, your mother upon hearing that you had left the school earlier but never came to the house got out of bed to speak with your father. She fainted in the pantry and she hasn't woken up since then. She risked her own health and the baby's from the worry for you. Your father is outside now searching for you and he won't come back until he finds you. They love you, Rose. They don't look at you as two adopted girls but as their daughters.", Beryl's arms were filled with the girl as she cried in her arms while Anna rubbed soothing circles on her back.

After a while Rose had calmed down and pulled back. "I want to see my parents and my sister.", she looked down at her hands.

The two women smiled warmly at the girl. They entered the house from the back door and Anna went to wake up Thomas so he could go to find the butler and tell him about his daughter. Beryl made a cup of hot cocoa for her niece while she put around her a blanket as she started shivering.

**/-00-/**

Charles entered the house to see his daughter. He found her sleeping in the sitting room on the armchair. He felt so relieved when Thomas had found them to tell them that the girl appeared that he run as fast as he could. He walked towards the armchair while his gaze never left his daughter's smiling face. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead that made her open her eyes. "Papa?", she looked at him and the smile disappeared from her face. "I'm so sorry, Papa.", she let a few tears to fall from her eyes.

He placed a kiss on her forehead once more and picked her up in his arms. "Ssshhhh, my darling girl. We will talk about it in the morning. I believe that your mother and sister would love to see you.", he left the sitting room and slowly made his way to his bedroom while Rose had fallen asleep in his arms.

Christine had fallen asleep next to her mother on the bed while she was taking care of her mother and waiting for news about her sister. Charles smiled at the lovely scene and placed softly his daughter next to her sister and mother trying not to wake them. He knew that he had to sleep in the armchair next to the bed but he didn't mind at all because he had his three girls in the same room sleeping.

The rays of the sun entered the bedroom warming and enlightening it. Christine opened her eyes slowly and was confused when she found herself between two bodies. In one side was her mother but her father was sleeping in the armchair. As she turned around slowly, she was happily surprised to see her sister sleeping beside her. "Rose!", she shouted in her excitement making her parents to wake up immediately.

"Rose? You are back, my love.", Elsie was so happy to see her daughter back with them. After hugging her sister, she filled her mother's arms not wanting to leave from there.

"I'm so sorry, mama for worrying all of you so much.", she said to her mother as she pulled back. "Aunt Beryl and Anna found me outside in the courtyard crying. We talked and made me see things more clearly.", she explained with them.

"But I don't understand, Rose. Why did you do that?", she wanted to know what made her daughter take that decision after being so happy with her new life.

"I thought that now that you are going to have a baby, you won't love me anymore. I didn't want to lose you like I lost my biological mother.", she started crying and Elsie pulled her in her arms rocking her back and forth.

"Oh, my girl! We won't stop loving you because we are going to have a baby. That won't happen ever. Your father and I love you both very much, Rose. We don't see you as two adopted girls but as our daughters. We were so happy that we are going to have a baby and you will have a little brother or sister to play with, to teach things. We will never stop loving you or Christine.", she was speaking in a low, soft and loving voice. "You are not going to lose me. I will be with you until I am old enough that God will take me with him. I have to stay in bed so the baby will be born alive and healthy. You can help me by coming to see me, read to me, cuddle with me. Then you will help me with the baby when it will be born. You will take care of him or her when I will be very busy. You will teach the baby things.", she looked at her daughters who nodded in agreement with wide smiles on their faces.

Charles stood up from the armchair and sat in the bed from the other side so the girls were in the middle. They stayed in bed the four of them for a while and then Charles got ready to work. The girls sat with their mother and talked about the baby and many other things. In the evening Charles returned to the room with dinner for them and they ate in the bed like before. They slept together in the bed with smiles on their faces.

**Please, please, please review. I would like to know what you think of this chapter. I won't be able to update the next chapter until at least Tuesday afternoon because I will have a very busy weekend and I will be tired. **

**To Be Continued…**


	7. Feel loved

Chapter 7: Feel loved

**A/N: In the previous chapter I said that I wasn't going to update a new chapter until Tuesday but I couldn't stop thinking this chapter, so I decided to write it last night at one o'clock in the morning. Thank you so much for your reviews. They are very encouraging in writing this story. In the previous chapter we saw the reaction of the twins and Rose finally seeing that they love her despite a new baby coming. How will the months pass for the Carson family? Will Elsie manage to give birth to an alive and healthy baby? Let's find out in this chapter. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in the drama isn't mine.**

The days were passing but not so quickly as they wanted to. Elsie was getting bored being all day, every day in bed but she knew that it was for her and the baby's good. The girls had lunch with her every other day while the other days they had dinner with her. They did their homework and study for the school as quickly as they could, so they could spend time with their mother. Sometimes they asked their parents' help about something they didn't understand in their homework or studies.

Charles had gone to buy them some books for their age and some books for Elsie to spend her time. Sometimes the girls read to their mother and in the end she fell asleep. They would help Anna with the chores she had to do and slowly started learning things about Anna's work and their mother's work. They had an interested in cooking as well and Beryl would teach them something simple whenever she had free time.

They had learnt quickly to be careful with their mother as her emotions could change in a minute. In one moment she was happy and laughing while the other moment she was sad and crying. The times they caught her crying, they started reading to her or cuddle with her so she would calm down. Charles was going everything he could to make his wife happy. He was the first one to witness the sudden changes in her emotions as a day they were talking about the baby and suddenly she got upset, started shouting at him and ended up crying in his arms.

Anna would go to ask for her opinion, her advice about the work or other things. She would inform her about what was happening upstairs and downstairs. She would stay with the housekeeper whenever the girls wanted to play with the Crawly girls. Beryl was making sure that she would eat very well and have some things in store for her cravings. She would go visit her whenever she could, telling her about how well the girls were doing in the cooking lessons with her.

Elsie noticed that she was getting bigger with each week that passed and found that she was very fat than other women. She had witnessed Cora's pregnancy with Edith and Sybil and she discovered that she was bigger than Cora was with her two daughters. She was in the seventh month now and she was waiting for the time to come to give birth so she could get up from that bed and hold her baby in her arms. She had noticed that she and Charles hadn't made love for more than a month and was thinking that he didn't want to because she was too fat and ugly.

Charles didn't have a lot of work to do and he decided to spend a little time with his wife as their daughters were playing with the Crawly girls and later they had cooking lessons with their aunt. He took a tray with tea, two cups and a plate filled with her favourite biscuits and made his way to their room. He had also placed a red rose on the tray to show her his love. As he entered the bedroom and closed the door, he was surprised to find her crying. He put the tray on her night stand and sat beside her on the bed. "Elsie? What's wrong love?", he was worried now.

She didn't answer him but continued to cry. He took her hands from her face and held them in his own. After a few moments she raised her head to look at him. "I don't know, Charles. My emotions are a mess since I discovered I was pregnant. I'm getting bigger with each week that pass and we haven't… you haven't… I'm caring your child but I still want your caresses, Charles.", she took her hands and put her on her faces as she started crying once more.

Now he understood the reason she was crying and getting herself so upset. He wanted so much to show her his love, to make love to her but with her emotions being a mess he didn't want to do something that would hurt or upset her. He took her hands from her face and held them in his own while he lifted her head to look at him. "Elsie, I want very much to show you how much I love you and make love to you.", he kissed her hands before looking at her once more.

"Then why you are pushing me away? It's because I'm fat and not beautiful anymore.", she was getting hysterical now as her emotions was a mess once more.

"Oh no, Elsie! You are not fat and you are more beautiful than ever, my love. Our child is growing inside you and that makes your stomach to get big. Since you got pregnant you are even more beautiful, my love. You are beautiful, Elsie.", he kissed her softly on the lips. "I didn't show you how much I love you by making love to you because I didn't want to do something to hurt you or upset you with your emotions being a mess. Of course I want to make love to you, to show you how much you mean to me. You are my life, Elsie.", he leaned forward and started kissing her passionately.

In the beginning she wasn't responding to his kiss but soon found herself craving for more than a simple kiss. She wanted to feel his skin against her own skin. She threw her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. Charles was sad that he hadn't noticed that before and was going to give anything she wanted. Suddenly, he pulled back from the kiss, got up from the bed and walked towards the door. Elsie thought that he had changed his mind about making love to her and tears started falling from her eyes but heard his steps coming closer to her and saw him standing in front of her with all his love written in his face and especially in his eyes.

He started taking off his clothes. First it was his jacket that landed on the floor, then his shirt fell as well and slowly in the end he was standing in front of her completely naked. She was getting more aroused as she watched his most intimate part twisting and was glad that she was able to still do that to him. He walked towards her with slow steps and got in the bed after throwing in the side the covers. He leaned down and started kissing her passionately as his hands started traveling all over her body until they found the end of her night gown and started pulling it up. She lifted her body up a little her body to help him to take the night gown off from her head and he threw it so it would join his clothes on the carpet.

He started kissing her lips, her cheeks, her neck and when he reached her breasts he gave them special treatment. He started sucking and pulling her nipples and gained a groan of pleasure from his wife. Soon his mouth found her knickers. Slowly his hand solved the two ribbons that were holding them and started pushing them down until they joined the pool of clothes on the carpet. Now they were both naked on their bed. As his mouth made its way up to her lips to kiss her passionately, his hand made its way to her center and started rubbing small circles. That made them both more aroused in an instant as their groans of pleasure were filling the room. He entered two fingers inside her as his mouth never left her mouth. She started moving against his hand but she wanted more, she wanted to fill _him_ inside her. "Please Charles… I need _you_…", she pleaded him between her groans of pleasure.

He took out his fingers and kissed her passionately as he entered her in a slow long thrust. They stood without moving for a few moments to feel how good it felt being together, being one. He started moving in slow thrusts and she followed him. He had a little difficulty with her big baby bump but he wasn't going to stop from giving her what she wanted. As he sensed that they were nearing their climax he started thrusting faster but not harder because she was pregnant. Soon they found their release and the room filled with the shouting of 'Elsie' and 'Charles'. They stood like that for a few moments to catch their breaths. He lied down beside her, pulled her in his arms and covered them with the covers.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Carson! You knew very well what I needed.", she smiled widely at her husband and kissed him softly on the lips.

"It was my pleasure, Mrs. Carson! You deserved every bit of what happened.", he placed his hand on her baby bump and felt the baby kicking against his hand. "I believe that someone woke up from the sudden activities of it parents.", they laughed and smiled as the baby continued to kick.

**/-00-/**

A week had pushed already and Charles made sure to take better care of his wife and her needs. He had talked to their daughters to spend more time with their mother because she needed to feel that she was loved. The girls were happy to comply as they had already made plans to spend more time with their mother. They had gone to Ripon with Anna on her half day off, after getting permission from their parents and bought a few books for the baby. They planned to read one of the books when they stayed with their mother.

They didn't have school because their teacher was ill, so they stayed at home. In the morning they helped Anna with the rounds to check the maids and then helped her with the ledgers which helped them to practice their math. After they finished with that they went to help their aunt in the kitchen as it was the day they had lunch with the other servants. Beryl liked it very much to have the girls with her to help her and she had noticed that they were quiet good with the cooking. She had promised them after lunch to teach them to bake their favourite biscuits so afterwards they would take some along with tea to their mother.

In the afternoon Rose and Christine took two small trays with biscuits and tea and the book to read to the baby inside their mother's stomach. Elsie was very happy to have her daughters with them as they told her what they did all day with Anna and their aunt. Charles brought them dinner before going downstairs to serve the family's dinner. After finishing their dinner the two girls put the empty plates on the tray and placed it on the desk. They sat on the bed next to their mother and started reading the book.

Elsie noticed that her back was hurting very much and tried to settle the pillows better behind her. She had a few pains also but rubbed her baby bump to calm it. The girls were laughing happily while reading the book when Elsie let out a scream of pain and leaned forward. The girls looked at their mother worried. "Mama, are you feeling alright?", Rose asked worried her mother and looked at Christine.

Elsie was about to speak when another pain hit her and let out a scream while she leaned forward. "Girls, go get your father.", she was getting worried because she was on the seventh month only and she couldn't be in labor.

The girls looked each other shocked and then at their mother. "But he is in the dining room, mama. We can't disturb them.", Christine said to her mother while she was getting very worried.

Suddenly, Elsie felt something wet between her thighs while she let out another cry and tried to calm down. She was in labor, there was no doubt of that. "Go get him! Quickly!", she shouted at her daughters as she tried to stay calm.

The twins looked each other for a moment with questioning looks and nodded their heads. Christine got out of bed and left the room quickly to go and get her father while Rose started running to go downstairs to inform her aunt. As Christine reached the door that was leading to the dining room she saw Thomas looking at her worried. "What happened, Christine?", he was curious about seeing the girl running.

"Something is wrong with mama. I need to get papa, Thomas.", she said as she was trying to catch her breath.

Thomas stood there still for a few moments looking at the girl with a worried expression and quickly returned to the dining room. Charles was confused and surprised when Thomas returned quickly to the room with empty hands. "What's going on, Thomas. Why you returned so quickly and with empty hands?", he asked the young man with anger when he came to stand next to him.

"I'm very sorry for that, Mr. Carson but I met Christine outside and she told me that something is wrong with Mrs. Carson. She had run all the way to come here.", he informed the butler.

Charles looked at the young man for a moment without moving or saying anything. He left the dining room in a hurry to find his daughter still outside the room. "What happened, Christine?", he asked his daughter trying to stay calm in front of her.

"We were reading to her one of the books we bought for the baby when she let out a scream of pain. She told us to come and get you.", she explained to her father while the fear of losing her mother started rising inside her.

"Alright, let's go.", they started running up the stairs to the bedroom.

"Thomas, what's going on?", Robert asked the young man with confusion.

"It's Mrs. Carson, Milord. Apparently, something is wrong.", he informed the family and saw how their faces changed in expressions of shock and worry.

"I'll send for the doctor.", Robert said as he stood up and left the room quickly. Cora stood up as well to go upstairs to see what was happening while Violet stayed with her granddaughters trying to reassure them that everything was going to be fine.

**/-00-/**

Charles upon hearing his wife's cries started running faster and entered the room while Christine followed him. He found Beryl in one side of the bed trying to calm his wife while Rose was standing in the other side of the bed looking worried at her mother. "Elsie, what's wrong?", he walked to take Beryl's placed and held her hand.

"The baby is coming, Charles.", she said worried as she was taking deep breaths. "It's too early, Charles.", she was crying now which didn't seem to help at all.

"Everything is going to be fine, my love.", he placed one of the softest kisses on her forehead. He turned to look at their daughters and saw them standing at the end of the bed with tears falling from their eyes. "Beryl, please take the girls to their room and stay with them.", he was feeling bad that they had to witness all these and he wanted to be with them but until the doctor arrived he wasn't going to leave Elsie's side.

Beryl nodded at the butler, took the girls to their room and stayed with them while they cried in her arms. The doctor arrived as soon as he could and found Charles and Cora in the room trying to calm the housekeeper. He asked Charles to leave the room despite Elsie's protest but asked Cora if she could stay. She reassured the butler that she would be at his wife's side all the time and walked to Elsie's side. He placed a soft kiss on her lips, nodded his head in thanks to Cora and left the room while his wife's cries were hurting him.

**Please, please, please review! I would like to know what you think of this chapter! Next chapter the rest of the labor and the arrival of the new Carson addition! Would you like to stop the story after the new arrival (in the next chapter) or would you like to continue the story and see them through the years? I will wait your opinions.**

**To Be Continued…**


	8. Our family growing

Chapter 8: Our family growing

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews! They are really very encouraging in writing this story! I won't end it here but I will write, at least, two more chapters! In the end of the previous chapter Elsie went into labor while being seven months pregnant. Will the baby arrive safely? Will Elsie and the baby be alright in the end? Let's find out. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in the drama isn't mine.**

Charles wanted to go to his daughters and be with them but he was very worried and nervous about Elsie and the baby and he didn't want them to see him like this. He was feeling already sad that they had to be there to hear their mother's first cries of pain. He was so glad that Beryl was in the room with them and while he was waiting outside, Cora was inside at his wife's side. He was pacing back and forth in the corridor stopping in his tracks whenever he heard her cry of pain. They wanted so much a child of their own but he was afraid that their wish would cost Elsie's life or the baby's life or worse both lives.

Richard had examined her and informed her that it would take a while before she would be able to start pushing. Cora was at her side holding her hand and talking to her to keep her calm because her fear and worry didn't help very much her condition. In fact her condition would get worse with her fear and worry. The pain was getting stronger with each contraction she had and she was feeling already exhausted. Suddenly, she lost consciousness and fell backwards on the pillows. Richard checked on her and knew that she was going to wake up as soon as another contraction would hit her.

After a few minutes a contraction hit her and she opened her eyes letting a cry of pain. Cora put her hands on her spine and pressed a little. Elsie let a small sigh of relief and the younger woman did it again as the contractions were coming again and again. Two hours had passed when Richard finally instructed her to start pushing for the baby to come out. She was feeling very tired and thought that she couldn't manage it until she felt Cora sitting in the bed behind her and convinced her to push.

Cora along with Richard kept talking softly to her encouraging her to push so she could hold her baby in her arms soon. She feeling very tired but she kept pushing with every bit of strength she had. She wished Charles to be there with her encouraging but in a way she was glad that he wasn't there because he would get very worried about her and she may had cursed him for doing that to her. Richard told her to push one more time with all her strength so the baby would be out. As she heard her baby crying she felt very tired and fainted in Cora's arms. The younger woman got out of bed as quickly as she could and put Elsie down softly on the pillows.

She watched as the doctor gave the baby, after its examination, to clean it and dress it and he moved to check on Elsie. She was a little worried about the older woman as she looked very pale, weak and small on the bed.

Charles was pacing back and forth in the corridor when he stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing a cry and noticed that it was the baby crying. He wanted to enter the room to see his baby and his wife but he decided to wait for the doctor to come out and get him. He just went to stand in front of the door waiting patiently for the doctor to come out. After a while the door opened and Richard stood in front of him after closing the door. "Mr. Carson you have a healthy daughter.", Richard informed him with a smile on his which didn't reach his ears.

"Another woman in my life to love and cherish.", he smiled widely but then looked at the doctor with worry on his face. "How is Elsie?", he was looking at him in a try to stay calm.

Richard looked at him and took a deep breath. "The labor was difficult for her as she already had a difficult pregnancy. She is very weak and she needs to stay in bed for at least a week to regain slowly her strength.", he wanted to do something about them but he couldn't. "I have something more to tell you. I'm so sorry to inform you about that but Mrs. Carson must not get pregnant again. If she gets pregnant it will be the death of her and I wouldn't like the girls and the baby to stay without a mother.", he saw how the butler nodded his head in agreement. "She is sleeping now and she won't wake up until the morning. You can go inside to meet your daughter and then you can take her to meet her sisters.", he offered him a small smile and leaded him in the room.

As he entered the room his eyes caught first his wife lying on the bed asleep with a small smile on her face. The nurse walked towards him holding the baby and placed it softly in her father's arms. Immediately his daughter was in his heart and he was sure that the twins will love her very much. He thanked Cora before she left the room to inform her family and he sat down next to his wife. The doctor along with the nurse left after Richard told him that he would come back tomorrow to check on Elsie. He sat there looking from his daughter to his wife and from his wife to his daughter.

After a few minutes he stood up after placing a kiss on his wife's forehead and left the room with the baby asleep in his arms. He knocked once on the door and entered the twins' bedroom with a smile on his face. Rose and Christine upon seeing their father entering their bedroom with the baby they run to him. He sat down in one of the beds so they could take a better look at the baby. "Girls, you have a sister.", he looked at their happy faces and then looked at Beryl who had noticed the sadness in his eyes.

"She is beautiful, papa.", the girls said together as they admired their new sister.

"Can we see mama now?", Christine asked as she caressed lightly the baby's hand.

"Your mother is sleeping now because she is weak from the labor but you can see her tomorrow.", he saw that the cook was looking him with a worried and questioning expression. "Tomorrow morning you will take care, along with aunt Beryl, of your sister as I have to go to buy a cot for her.", he informed them.

"Lady Grantham told us that she will bring the cot for the baby in a while.". Rose told her father with confusion.

"They wanted to buy something for the baby and upon seeing that you haven't bought a cot yet, they decided to buy one and give it to you before Elsie would give birth.", Beryl explained to him what Cora had told her. "She will bring it here with two footmen in a while so you can put the baby inside to sleep.", she had a smile on her face to reassure him.

**/-00-/**

The girls wanted to take care of their sister through the night but Charles took the cot to his bedroom so he would be able to attend to the baby whenever she woke up. He told them that they could spend the morning taking care of the baby and their mother as he wanted to go to Ripon for an errand he had to do. He didn't tell to anyone what he was planning to do because he wanted it to be a lovely surprise for his family.

The girls woke up in the morning upon hearing their sister crying from the next bedroom. They waited a few minutes but it didn't seem to stop so they went quickly to their parents' bedroom to see what was happening. They saw their parents still sleeping; especially their father was looking very tired and the baby crying in the cot. They walked towards the cot and started shaking it very softly to make the baby stop. It stopped for a few minutes but started crying again. "We have two choices, Rose. Either we wake up papa or one of us will pick up the baby.", Christine looked her sister and then looked at their father who was still sleeping.

"He seems to be very tired and it would do him good to sleep a little more. So our only choice is to pick her up. But who will do it?", Rose looked her sister with wide as they were trying to decided who would be up the baby.

"I will do it. If she stops I will try to put her to sleep. If she doesn't stop you will take her. Alright?", Christine looked terrified but when Rose nodded she leaned over the cot and slowly picked up her sister.

She sat in the rocking chair beside the cot and started rocking the baby back and forth. After a few minutes the baby stopped crying and looked with teary eyes her sister. Rose was surprised that her sister managed to calm their sister and sat beside her while they were both looking at her with smiles on their faces.

After a while Elsie opened her eyes for the first time since she lost consciousness last night after giving birth to her baby. She was a little confused as to what had happened afterwards. As she looked at her left side she saw Charles sleeping soundly and looking tired. Suddenly, she remembered the baby and sat up quickly wincing at the pain that hit her. She was happily surprised to find her older daughters looking and smiling at the baby while Christine was rocking back and forth. She felt so proud for them and thought that maybe the baby was crying and they had to somehow stop it. "Girls?", she said in a low and soft voice.

Rose and Christine looked up from their sister as they heard someone calling them and were very happy to see their mother looking at them with a wide smile on her face. Rose stood up from her chair and helped her sister to stand up from the rocking chair. They had managed to make their sister sleep, so Christine walked slowly towards the bed to their mother. "We learnt that you didn't meet the baby yesterday because you fainted from exhaustion.", Christine said in a low voice as to not wake up the baby.

"Mama, you have a very beautiful daughter.", Rose said proudly to her mother as her sister placed the baby softly in their mother's arms.

Elsie smiled proudly at her daughters and then looked down at her new baby daughter and smile again. She was indeed very beautiful and she was happy that she arrived healthy in the world. As she leaned backwards on the pillows the baby opened her eyes but didn't start crying instead she was looking with interested at the new face in front of her. _She must know that I am her mother,_ Elsie thought and smiled once more. Her baby daughter drifted off to sleep again and she looked up at her daughters. "I gather that she woke you up because she was crying and you came to see what was happening and found us asleep. So you decided to take matters in your hands and made her stop crying and fell asleep.", she laughed a little upon seeing her daughters nodding. "I'm very proud for you girls. Thank you so much for taking care of your sister. I love you very much.", she reached to kiss them both.

After a few minutes Charles opened his eyes trying to remember what had happened before falling asleep exhausted and suddenly the realization came on him. "Oh my God! The baby!", he stood up quickly to go to the cot but stopped in his tracks when he heard giggles coming from the bed. As he turned around he noticed that his wife was sitting in the bed with the baby in her arms laughing while his daughters were standing next to the bed laughing as well. "May I ask what you think is so funny, ladies?", he was a little upset seeing them laughing at him.

They stopped for a moment but started laughing again. Elsie saw that he was getting more upset and stopped before she woke up the baby and started crying. The girls stopped laughing as well and tried to keep silent. "We are very sorry about this but it was a little funny, love.", she tried to keep her laughter back because she could wake up the baby and upset her husband more. "You must feel very proud about our daughters.", she continued explaining as he looked at them confused. "Apparently, our little girl was crying and woke up her sisters. They came to see if everything was alright but found you sleeping tiredly and me sleeping as well, so they decided to pick her up and rock her so she would stop and fall asleep.", she saw how he smiled proudly at his daughters but also feeling embarrassed for sleeping and not hear the baby. "Come here, love.", he did as he was told and turned back to bed sitting next to his wife as she sat closer to him so the girls could sit on the bed as well.

They lied down on the bed for a while when Charles stood up to get washed and dressed to go to Ripon without telling that he had a surprise for them. He left his twins to take care of their mother and sister while he was away. The girls were taking care their sister as Richard came to check on Elsie and then to check the baby. He told her that she had to stay for at least a week in bed and then he would check on her again and tell her if she can go back to her work. Beryl had sent a maid up with breakfast for the girls and Elsie. She was glad to know that her friend woke up and was already much better.

Charles turned back to Downton from Ripon in the afternoon and went to check on his family before asking for a sandwich from the cook to keep him until dinner. He found his four women sleeping on the large bed with the baby between his daughters and his wife. He walked slowly towards Elsie's night table and placed four small boxes with different coloured ribbons. He placed a kiss on his wife's forehead and left the room to go downstairs.

He went to check on them again before he had to go to the dining room to serve the family. He found them sitting in the bed talking and laughing. He thought that they hadn't seen the boxes as they were standing still closed on the night table. He walked towards Elsie's side and kissed her softly on the lips while afterwards placing a kiss on his daughters' cheeks. He took first the small box with the blue ribbon and gave it to his wife. Elsie opened the small box and found a necklace with a gold chain and a gold heart. She noticed that the heart could be opened and that she could put inside two photographs. "You can place a photograph of our three children and a photograph with me and you, love.", he turned the heart so she could see what was engraved on it. _'Our family always with you inside your heart.'_ She had tears in her eyes and kissed him on the lips.

He took the small box with the pink ribbon and gave it to Rose with a smile. Rose opened the small box and found a necklace similar to her mother's but with a rose and when she opened it she found two photographs, one of her biological parents and one of her adopted parents. She turned it and saw that something was engraved on it. _'We will always love you.' _She stood up quickly, hugged and kissed her parents. He took the small box with the purple ribbon and gave it to Christine. She opened it and found a necklace similar to her mother and sister's but with a butterfly and inside it there were the same photographs her sister's had. She turned to see what was engraved and found the same message. _'We will always love you.' _She stood up quickly ad gave a hug and kiss to her parents. "Sister Anna gave me picture of your parents on their wedding day and I put a picture of our wedding day.", he looked at Elsie and smiled. "You will always have with you your four parents.", he saw the tears falling from their eyes and was sure that they liked it very much.

He took the last small box with a red ribbon and gave it to Elsie to open it. Elsie opened it and found a necklace similar to the others but with an angel. Inside of it there was a picture of Elsie alone on her wedding day and a picture of Charles alone on his wedding day. She knew that something had to be engraved in the back, so she turned to see it. _'Our little angel.'_ She looked up at her husband with tears falling from her eyes. "She is indeed our little angel. God sent her to us to bring more joy and happiness to our family and life.", she looked down at her little daughter who was sleeping peacefully and then her arms were filled with her two girls. "Never forget how much we love you, my darlings.", she placed a kiss to her daughters' foreheads.

Charles kissed his women and left the room to go downstairs to serve the family. Soon the twins were also asleep and Elsie looked for a while her three angels sleeping peacefully until she drifted off to sleep as well. This was how Charles found them when he came back two hours later with dinner. He had to admit that he wanted very much a son but he was very happy with his daughters and he wouldn't change them for the whole world. He placed the tray with the dinner on the desk and then took the baby placing it softly back to her cot. He woke up his other three girls to have dinner. They ate together while talking and laughing. They allowed the twins to stay with them for just one night, so they placed them in the middle. Soon the Carson family was asleep.

**Please, please review. I would like to know what you think. I hope until Thursday to update the next chapter of my story 'What happens next?'.**

**To Be Continued…**


	9. Taking care of you

Chapter 9: Taking care of you

**A/N: Thank you very much for your reviews! They are really encouraging! I don't know yet if the next chapter will be the last or I will continue to write! In the previous chapter Elsie gave birth to her daughter but she mustn't get pregnant again while Charles surprised his girls with the necklaces. Each one very special for its owner. How will life continue for the Carson family? Let's find out. There's a time jump in this chapter. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in the drama isn't mine.**

Elsie was very busy checking her maids, checking all the bedrooms for the guests and their maids and valets, meeting with Lady Grantham and Beryl for the menus and the ingredients that needed to be ordered, so she instructed her three daughters to stay in their bedroom to play because of the chaos downstairs. Charles was very busy checking the wines with Lord Grantham, checking all the silver, supervising and instructing his footmen and serving the family and their guests. Beryl was busy with instructing her kitchen maids for the preparations of the menus.

Rose and Christine had seen something like that in their first six months at Downton but the almost four years old Charlotte hadn't seen something like that before and wasn't very happy to stay in her bedroom all day with her sisters. It was July and it had a very nice day outside, so she wanted to go outside to play. The girls had forbidden to their sister to get out of the room without their permission or their mother's permission. They were sitting in Rose's bed while Charlotte was jumping up and down on her bed without listening to her sisters' about stopping it. They were reading a very nice book to keep themselves busy when they heard a cry. As they turned her heads towards their sister, they found her bed empty and someone crying. They stood up quickly and walked to the other side of the bed where they saw Charlotte lying on the floor crying while she had hit her forehead with the result of a bleeding.

"Oh my God! For heaven's sake, Charlotte.", Christine shouted as she gathered her little sister in her arms and sat on her bed.

"We have to take care of her, Christine. We can't call mama because she will shout at us for being careless with Charlotte. What are we going to do now?", the two girls started thinking while Charlotte continued crying in Christine's arms.

"We have seen mama to take care of small injuries that we or Charlotte or someone else had. Go down to her sitting room and bring her first aid box. Make sure that papa and mama won't catch you.", she was rocking back and forth her sister to calm her down.

Rose nodded her head and left quickly the room to go downstairs and get her mother's first aid box. She was sure that they would get in trouble later after their parents found out about Charlotte's little accident but if they helped her then they wouldn't get a very hard punishment. She returned a few minutes later without her parents seeing her. "I brought it.", she placed it on the bed next to her sisters and opened it. "Charlotte, this will hurt a little but I have to clean it to see if it is deep.", she started cleaning her sister's forehead while Christine tried to make her thing something else. As Rose finished she sighed in relief. "Thank God it isn't deep. I will take care of it and we can tell them later on about what happened.", Rose finished with her sister's forehead with placing a small bandage on the cut.

Charlotte leaned in her sister's arms because she felt a little dizzy and closed her eyes. The girls noticed after a while that she had drifted off to sleep and knew that they had to let her sleep but they didn't want to leave her alone. Slowly Christine picked her up in her arms and the three sisters lied down on Rose's bed. Soon the twins drifted off to sleep as well while making sure their sister was alright between them.

**/-00-/**

It was afternoon by now but Elsie was already feeling tired with all that crazy chaos downstairs. She opened her sitting room's door and closed it behind her again. She sighed tired when she noticed her desk and that she had a lot of work to do yet. She let herself sank gratefully in her armchair and closed her eyes. She was trying to remember what she had forgotten all day but she couldn't.

As she began relaxing she heard a knock on her door. Knowing very well that it was her husband she called him to enter. He was tired as well and was wondering where she could be when he hadn't found her in the servant's hall or in the kitchen. He saw how tired she was because she had sank in her armchair, something she didn't do very often. "Elsie, are you alright?", he asked her softly as he sat down in a chair next to her.

She opened her eyes to look at her husband and started crying. He was at her side in an instant and pulled her in his arms. She continued crying in his arms and getting comfort from him. After a few moments she pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Oh, Charles. I feel so tired. Organizing this whole crazy party is very tiring and on top of everything having three daughters to take care.", suddenly realization came down to her. She had forgotten her daughters as she was running up and down so organize everything. "Oh my God! The girls, Charles! I have left them in their bedroom from the morning when the guests and the staff arrived. I completely forgot them.", she started crying again as she buried her face in her hands. "How could I forget them! I'm a terrible mother, Charles!", she didn't lift her head to look at him.

His heart sank at the sight of his wife and her words. He had also forgotten them but it was natural because they had so much to do and they were tired. He pulled her in his arms once more. "You are not a terrible mother, Elsie Carson! We have three wonderful and lovely daughters and we love them very much.", he was rubbing soothing circles on her back. "I forgot them as well but it's natural with all this that we had to organize and check. We are tired, love.", she kept crying in his arms. "You are not a terrible mother, Elsie Carson! The girls love you very much and they are very lucky to have you as their mother.", he kept rubbing soothing circles on her back to help her calm down. "Why don't we go upstairs to check on them? We could stay for a while with our daughters and then come back down, with the girls, to have dinner.", he noticed how her face lightened up.

He held his hand out to her and she took it gladly. They informed Beryl and Anna that they will be upstairs with the girls for a while and made their way upstairs. Charles knocked softly on their door but didn't get an answer, so they entered the bedroom. They had smiled on their faces when they noticed their daughters sleeping and that the twins had put their hands protectively around their little sister. They walked towards the bed to wake them up. As Elsie leaned down to kiss Christine on the cheek she noticed that Charlotte had a small bandage on her forehead. "Oh my God!", she said in a loud enough voice that woke up the three girls. "What happened?", she asked worried.

Rose and Christine had noticed that their mother must have seen the bandage on Charlotte's forehead. "It's our fault, Mama. We didn't take care of our sister very well.", Rose said immediately as she wanted to protect the little girl.

They noticed that Elsie didn't believe that at all. She fixed them with a glare that had for her maids when they were keeping something from her. "I know you very well, girls and I know that you are always taking care of you sister very well.", she looked all three of them and then fixed her gaze on her youngest daughter. "Elisabeth Charlotte Carson, what happened?", she was getting upset now.

Charlotte knew that she was in trouble now. It wasn't a very good sign when they would call her with her full name. She knew that her sisters would try to protect her but their mother always seemed to know who fault was every time. "I was bored being in her, so I started jumping on the bed. Rose and Christine told me many times to stop but I didn't listen to them. I fell from the bed and hit my head.", she was looking down on her hands as she explained to them what happened. Then she lifted her head and looked at her parents. "I am sorry.", she started crying and looked down on her hands again.

Elsie looked at Charles who nodded at her and she took her little angel in her arms. Charlotte continued crying in her mother's arms and started shaking. After a while the sobs had subsided and she pulled back to look at her mother. "We are not angry with you, Charlotte or with you, girls.", she looked at the twins who were worried about their parents' reaction. "We are very sorry to keep you in here all day but we were so busy and we didn't want any of you to get hurt or in problem with any of the guests or the maids and valets. Although, we are a little upset that you didn't hear your sisters and stop jumping on the bed.", Charlotte leaned back in her mother's arms and she started rocking softly back and forth. Elsie lifted her head to look at the girls who were sitting opposite of her. "How did you manage to take care of her injury, girls?", she was very curious to know about that.

The girls looked each other before looking at their father and then at their mother. "Christine took Charlotte in her arms to calm her down because she was crying while I went to your sitting room to get your first aid box.", Rose said and pointed at the box on Charlotte's desk. "We have seen you taking care of our injuries or the maids or the footmen's injuries, so we decided to take care of our sister's injury. The cut on her forehead isn't deep, so I simply cleaned it and put the small bandage on top.", Rose explained to her parents.

"Then Charlotte leaned in my arms and fell asleep. We didn't want to wake her up, so we moved to Rose's bed and slept there all three of us.", Christine finished and looked at her twin sister.

Charles and Elsie looked each other with surprise upon hearing their daughters. They turned their heads to look at the twins and smiled to them. "We are very proud of you, girls. You did an excellent work with taking care of your sister.", Charles was very proud of them because they had always taken good care of Charlotte since the day she was born. "Although, we don't understand why you didn't come to use once Charlotte was injured.", he was curious to know their answer and a little upset of being informed later.

"We didn't come to you because we knew you were very busy with the party. We didn't want you to think that we couldn't take good care of our sister. We are doing it since she was born and we didn't want you to think that we are not capable anymore.", Christine told her parents and looked down at her hands.

Charles and Elsie finally understood the reason their daughters didn't inform them immediately about what happened. They had reassured them that they loved them as their real daughters and as much as they loved Charlotte. They didn't want them to think that they had any obligation towards them or Charlotte because they had been kind enough to adopt them. "Girls, how many times have we been through this?", Charles asked them with a low and soft voice as he stood next to his daughters. "You don't have any obligation towards me or your mother or your sister because we were kind enough to adopt you and take you from the orphanage. We loved you as our own daughters from the first time we met you and no one can change that. We love you as much as we love Charlotte. You are our daughters as much as Charlotte is.", he kissed them on their cheeks and caressed their hair.

"We are very proud of you because you took excellent care of your sister but you must inform us when something like that happens again in the future. If the cut was deeper we would have to get the doctor for your sister. Fortunately, everything was fine but please next time come to us immediately. Alright, girls?", she offered them a warm smile as they nodded their heads. "And you, young lady", she started as she looked at the little girl. "You must listen to your sisters when they tell you something. They don't want you to get hurt but to protect you from any hurt. Do you understand, Charlotte?", she kissed her hair as she nodded her little head.

They stayed in the bedroom for an hour playing, reading and laughing together. After that the girls washed their hands in their bathroom and followed their parents downstairs. They stayed in the sitting room talking and drawing until it was dinner time for downstairs. After they finished the dinner Beryl surprised the girls with their favourite desert which they could eat in the sitting room. Charles and Elsie decided to have an early night and leaded their daughters to their bedroom. After the girls changed into their night clothes they lied down on Christine's bed. Their parents read them two stories and soon the three girls were asleep snuggled together. They didn't want to move them as to not wake them up and covered them with a soft sheet.

That night Charles showed Elsie how much he loved her until the wee hours of the morning. They fell asleep with their naked bodies pressed together and wide smiles of happiness on their faces.

**Please, please review! I would like to know what you think of this chapter! As I am not ready to finish this story in the next chapter, I will write three more chapters and end this story in chapter number 12! **

**To Be Continued…**


	10. A mother's love

Chapter 10: A mother's love

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews! They really mean a lot to me and encourage me to write this story! In the previous chapter we saw how Rose and Christine took care of their sister. In the previous chapter we were in 1915 but in this chapter we are in 1919. Rose and Christine are almost 17 years old and Charlotte is almost 8 years old. This chapter is written from inspiration by an episode of series 2. I hope you like it.**

It had been very busy and stressful for all of them, especially the housekeeper and the butler of Downton Abbey, since the war came to an end. They were short of a maid, a footman and a kitchen maid which was very stressful for the butler, the housekeeper and the cook. Rose had offered to help her mother as a maid and Christine had offered to help Beryl as a kitchen maid until they could find someone for those positions.

Elsie had been more stressful as she was helping Ethel in secret of her family and the family upstairs until Charles found out and pressured her to tell the truth to Lady Grantham. They had been at odds since that day but they were trying to hide it from their daughters. He had informed her that Richard Carlisle had offered him the position of butler at the house he and Lady Mary would occupy once they were married. He was thinking seriously this offer but Elsie had refused to leave Downton with her daughters to go to serve that horrible man, she didn't mind so much about Lady Mary because she had gotten to know the young woman since she was friends with her oldest daughters but she didn't like that man.

He had accepted the offer because he knew that Lady Mary needed him there and he had a feeling that he had to protect her from that man she was engaged to. That decision hurt very much Elsie but they continued as they were friends and not a married couple. She was relieved when Anna told them about Carlisle's offer and Charles refused to go with them. They had managed to make up again that night and be again a happy married couple.

**/-00-/**

They were up since five o'clock in the morning because they had a lot of work to do. Rose and Christine had gotten up as well to help in every way they could and sent their sister to school. Elsie had noticed how busy they both were so she made a tray with tea and a sandwich for Charles and went to his pantry. He got up upon hearing her steps but he was unsteady. As she opened the door she noticed how flushed his face was and that he was sweating. She placed the tray on the desk next to her and rushed to him. He was burning up with a fever while his shirt and jacket were wet from the sweat. He was convinced to go and lied down because he knew that she was capable of doing both their works.

Once she helped him to lie down on their bed, she instructed Christine to stay with her father and went to call for doctor Clarkson. She was getting worried about him because she didn't know what was wrong with him. This wasn't just a cold but something else more serious. She wanted so much to take care of him but she was the housekeeper and she had to be in charge of the downstairs staff now. She had asked to speak with Lady Grantham about Ethel and she had noticed that the younger woman wasn't looking very well.

She was in her sitting room working on some papers while Charlotte was drawing on the settee. She was startled when the door opened and Rose came inside. "What happened, Rose?", she was getting worried as she thought that something happened to Charles.

"Lady Grantham and Ms. Swire aren't feeling well, Mama. The doctor will have to check on them as well.", she said as she tried to catch her breath from the running.

Elsie was getting more worried and stressed as she had Charles lying ill upstairs, Lady Grantham and Ms. Swire were taken ill as well and she had Molesley in the servant's hall ill as well. She knew that it was going to be difficult for them and she wanted to know what was that that had these people in this state.

She wanted the doctor to check on Charles first but it wasn't proper so he took him to see Lady Grantham. He hadn't said anything about what was going on until they arrived at the servant's hall to check on Molesley. She was upset with him upon hearing that he was drunk and worried upon hearing the term 'Spanish Flu'. Once she made sure everyone had retired for the night she went upstairs to take over for Christine so she could rest. She was getting worried as the fever had gone up again during the night while it had gone down a bit in the afternoon.

By the morning some maids were taken ill with the Spanish Flu and she was getting more worried. She knew that Charles would be fine to be left alone so she took the twins to help her with the house. She was thankful that Charlotte was at school for the morning as she was worried that she may catch the flu as well. She was relieved when Lady Mary told her that Richard Carlisle would come to Downton to help. She had also the meeting with the Bryants, Ethel and little Charlie.

She felt a little dizzy when Anna informed her that Lady Grantham was worse. She was trying to stay calm because she had a household to run and three daughters for whom she needed to be strong. She was terrified when the doctor was called as Lady Grantham got worse by the afternoon. She was so glad to hear that Charles was alright for now but they didn't know what this flu will cause. She was in her sitting room trying to concentrate when the door flew open and Christine came in out of breath. "Christine what happened?", she was afraid that Charles got worse.

Christine was taking deep breaths to calm down from the running before lifting her head to look at her mother. "It's Rose, mama. I found her unconscious on the floor in our bedroom. She is burning up with a fever, mama. You have to call doctor Clarkson.", Christine left the room and run upstairs to her sister while Elsie stood there without moving trying hard to be strong.

She was ready to faint when the doctor informed her that Rose had caught the serious form of the flu and he was afraid that she might catch pneumonia. After doctor Clarkson left for the hospital, Elsie instructed Christine and Charlotte to leave the room because she didn't want either of them to catch the flu as well. She was worried enough that her husband was lying ill in the next room while her daughter had caught the serious form. She stayed with her daughter, placing cool flannels on her forehead and giving her the medicine the doctor left so the fever could come down. She hadn't managed to sleep for one moment during the night as a few times Rose had been tossing in her bed and throwing away the covers.

She got more worried and refused to leave her daughter when she learnt that Ms. Swire died from the flu later in the evening. She was afraid that she might die and in that case she wanted to be with her, taking care of her and showing her all her love. The funeral was in two days and she was hoping that they wouldn't have another one until that day. Rose got worse by the next day's evening causing her mother to worry. The doctor informed her that if she survived through the night, then she would live. Elsie didn't leave her daughter for one second alone. She didn't close her eyes to rest for one second. She kept placing cool flannels on her forehead, giving her the medicine and all the while talking or singing softly to her daughter. She was relieved when by the next morning the fever broke down which meant that her daughter was going to live but she was tired as she hadn't slept for more than fifty hours.

**/-00-/**

Charles had learnt about what was happening from Christine or Lady Mary who had gone to visit him a few times. He was worried about his daughter but he was also worried about his wife because he knew that she hadn't slept for hours and she wouldn't leave their daughter alone. He was so sad when Christine informed him about Lavinia's death and worried that his daughter might die as she had caught the serious form. He was relieved when Christine informed him that Rose was getting better. He was able to get out of bed when she had told him that she was worried about her mother.

As he opened the door of his daughters' bedroom he smiled as he saw his wife sitting on the bed with their daughter in her arms singing to her softly. Rose had a wide smile on her face as she was sleeping so peacefully in her mother's arms. He noticed, though, the dark circles under Elsie's eyes and how tired she was. He walked towards them and sat in the chair next to the bed. "Why don't you go in our bedroom to rest for a bit, love? I will stay with Rose and I won't leave her for one second. I promise.", he took her hand in his and looked her in the eyes. He noticed the tears that appeared and was confused. "What's the matter, love?", he was worried about her.

"Oh, Charles!", she had placed her daughter softly on the bed and covered her before throwing herself in her husband's arms. "I was so afraid about you and our daughter. I was afraid that you may die, especially after hearing that Ms. Swire died.", she was crying uncontrollably now.

He started rocking her back and forth as he was rubbing soothing circles on her back. Suddenly, her sobs stopped and she lying limp in his arms. She had fainted in his arms from the exhaustion and worry about her husband and daughter. He picked her up and placed her on Christine's bed. "You are very stubborn, Elsie Carson.", he said as he placed a kiss on her forehead. He was a little glad that she fainted because it would give her the time she needed to rest.

Neither Rose nor Elsie woke up until the next morning. Charles had stayed all night to take care of his daughter and his wife while Christine and Charlotte had gone to sleep in their parents' bedroom. He was sitting in the chair between the two beds holding his daughter's and wife's hands. He felt movement from his right side and was happy to see that Rose was waking up. Once she opened her eyes she smiled upon seeing her father. "How are you feeling, my darling?", he offered her a warm smile and kissed on the forehead. He was relieved to see that she hadn't a fever any more.

"Much better, papa. If I'm honest I'm feeling quiet hungry.", that caused Charles to laugh. Rose noticed that her mother was sleeping on the bed next to her. "What happened to mama?", she was afraid that maybe she had caught the flu from her by taking care of her.

"She fainted in my arms yesterday afternoon after I came to check on you and your mother. She hadn't slept at all because she was taking care of you and before you were taken ill she hadn't slept at all for twenty four hours.", he noticed the worry on his daughter's face. "Don't worry, my girl. She is going to be alright, she just needs to rest. You know how stubborn your mother is.", they both laughed at the last statement. "I will go downstairs to get breakfast for my family. I will wake up your sisters and tell them to come here. If your mother wakes up don't let her to get out of that bed.", he placed a kiss on her forehead and left the room.

After almost an hour Elsie opened her eyes as she smelled something wonderful. She turned her head and discovered her husband and her daughters sitting together on Rose's bed laughing. "May I ask what is so funny?", she asked a little upset as she tried to go to a sitting position.

"Let me help you, love.", Charles helped her in a sitting position and then kissed her softly on the lips. "How are feeling?", he was still worried about her.

"I'm feeling much better, thank you. Although, I have to admit that I have to stay in bed for the day.", she said in a sad voice.

"Don't worry, love. I'm sure that our daughters will be happy to spend the day with you. Now, let me help you to sit with us.", he helped her get out of the bed and sit next to Rose on the bed. They had all together breakfast in bed while talking and laughing again. _It feels so nice to be together again and laughing and smiling once more,_ Elsie thought and smiled while she enjoyed the time with her whole family.

**Please review. I would like to know what you think of this chapter. Two more chapters to go, everyone until our story is finished. What life keeps in store for the Carson family?**

**To Be Continued…**


	11. The sweetest spirit

Chapter 11: The sweetest spirit

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews! They really mean a lot to me and encourage me to write this! Alright, the next chapter will be the last chapter. I have engrossed myself in this story leaving my others stories. The previous chapter was written as an inspiration from the eight episode of the second series of the drama. This chapter is written as well as an inspiration from an episode of series three. I hope you like it because it's a sad chapter. I'm keeping all the fluff and happiness for the last episode. **

**Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in the drama, isn't mine.**

They were the only ones awake from the staff as they were the two heads. They had sent everyone upstairs to be. He had called doctor Clarkson for Lady Sybil and they were waiting for news. They decided to go to bed as they were exhausted after hearing that it was a false alarm. They made sure everything was locked downstairs and made their way hand in hand to their room. They changed quickly to their night clothes and lied down on the bed. After only a couple of minutes they were both asleep in each other's arms.

Charles was the first one to wake up in the morning and just stood there watching his wife sleeping. He had noticed that she was worried about Lady Sybil and so he was as well. He placed a kiss on her lips and she woke up with a smile on her face. They cuddled for a while and then got dressed for the day. They arrived downstairs with their daughters. The three girls ate their breakfast quickly as the twins had promised to their sister to accompany her to the school and then go to Ripon for some errands. Charles stood up from his usual seat at the head of the table and reminded everyone about Lady Sybil's condition and that they had to be quiet.

**/-00-/**

The men of the family along with Violet were waiting in the library for news about Sybil as she had gotten into labor early in the evening while the staff was waiting in the servant's hall for news. Charles was the only one from the staff that was waiting outside the library for news. Rose and Christine had put their sister to bed early because she had school in the morning and they went back downstairs to wait for news. Elsie and her daughters were talking about Sybil and the baby when they noticed Charles entering the servant's hall with a wide smile on his face. "That's it.", they all stood up upon hearing him. "The baby is born.", the excitement was all over their faces. "It's a girl.", the smiles were wider now. "Now you can all go to bed.", he dismissed them and left to go to his pantry. Elsie followed him with a wide smile on her face. Once they were in his pantry with closed doors she threw herself in his arms. "I hope you are feeling better now, love. I know how worried you were about Lady Sybil.", he said in a soft and caring voice as he caressed her back and kissed her on her head.

"Yes, love. I'm feeling better now. I'm so excited, Charles.", she wasn't feeling any better, she had a bad falling for days now and she thought that it would leave once the baby arrived in the world but it was still there. She didn't say anything because she didn't want to worry him with that, she might be wrong after all. She reached to kiss him passionately and smile as he deepened the kiss.

"I believe, Mrs. Carson that we must go to bed. I have an idea for tonight.", he informed her with a smirk as he broke their kiss and kissed her once more.

After they made sure that everyone had gone to bed and that it was locked downstairs, they made their way hand in hand up the stairs to their bedroom stopping at every flight to kiss. He had started working on the buttons of her dress while she was working on the buttons of his shirt as they arrived inside their room. He pulled his hands away from her body so his above clothes could fell on the carpet. Soon her dress joined his clothes. He started working quickly on her corset while she worked on his belt and trousers. Soon her corset, shift and shoes and his belt, trousers and shoes joined the pool of clothes. He walked them towards the bed and lowered her softly on the bed. He started kissing her neck and reached her breasts. He stayed there for a while giving his attentions to her breasts. He reached the waist band of her knickers and slowly he took them off together with her stockings. She was lying in front of him completely naked.

She smiled widely at her husband and noticed that he was still wearing his undershorts. As he leaned down to kiss her passionately her hands started taking them off and her feet took them completely off while he pulled back to take off his shocks. They were completely naked now. She was pinned underneath him and loved how his skin felt against her skin. "I love you, Mrs. Carson!", he said to his wife as he remembered how happy he was on their first night together, on the day they learnt the twins were legally their daughters, the day she announced that they were going to be parents and the day he hold his baby daughter in his arms. He wanted to show her how much he loved her.

"I love you, Mr. Carson!", she said to her husband as she remembered how happy she was on their first night together, on the day they learnt that they were the parents of the twins, the day she learnt that she was pregnant and the day she hold in her arms her baby daughter for the first time. She needed him to show her how much he loved her as they had spent some time apart in the past. Only last year she was afraid that she would lose her husband and her daughter but now here they were. Their three daughters sleeping in the next bedroom and her husband was about to make love to her. She looked him in the eyes and smiled. "Please, Charles.", she pleaded him as she needed to feel him inside of her.

Charles was more than happy to comply to her demand and entered her in a long slow thrust. He didn't make any move as he wanted to memorize that wonderful feeling of him inside of her. He saw how her eyes darkened from her desire and started moving against her in slow thrusts. He wanted to give them the same feeling they had on their first night together. It was going to be slow and gentle, so they could both feel the sensations.

She wanted him to thrust harder and faster but she wanted the slow and gentle he was giving to her. It was bringing back all the feelings from their first night together. In that way they could feel all the sensations of their lovemaking, to show each other their love. She needed to feel happy and loved as she remembered the day she lost their baby. If that didn't happen they would have four children now and it could have been a boy. She knew that Charles loved his daughters but he would like to have a son. She wanted to give him a son and she didn't mind to lose her life in order to give him a son but every time they talked about it he was against it because he couldn't live without her. She pushed all these thoughts away as she was nearing her climax.

Charles feeling that they were nearing their climax started to move a little faster and harder against her. He leaned down to kiss her passionately on the lips and then moved to her neck where he sucked her making sure to leave his mark there. After a few more thrusts the room was filled with the cries of 'Charles' and 'Elsie'. They didn't move, they liked the feeling of being joined after they had found their release. He kissed her once more with all his passion and love and then move to lie down next to her making sure to draw her into his arms.

For a reason they didn't know, after a while they got out of bed to put on their night clothes. They lied back down on the bed and drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. They had been asleep only for two hours when they were awake by the sudden knocks on their door. They got out of bed and run to the door thinking it was one of their daughters but found Lady Mary standing in front of them. "What's wrong, Milady?", Charles asked the young woman worried as he noticed that she had teary eyes. They broke apart to let her enter the room and Charles closed the door. As he looked his wife in confused they were both taken by surprise when they saw Mary collapse on the floor and started crying.

Elsie looked at her husband and then moved quickly to the young woman pulling her into her arms. Mary didn't pull away but settled farther in the housekeeper's arms and continued crying. Elsie started rubbing soothing circles on the young woman's back and rocking back and forth to calm her. "Sybil… is… dead.", she managed to say between her sobs and continued crying in Elsie's arms.

Charles and Elsie looked each other shocked upon hearing these three words. Charles stood there watching the young woman that he loved as one of his daughters crying uncontrollably into his wife's arms for her sister's death. He left quickly the room to make sure that what he had just heard was true. He found Lord Grantham crying alone in the corridor and that moment he knew that it was true. He couldn't believe that the young woman had given birth to her daughter a few hours ago and now she was dead leaving her husband without a wife and her daughter without a mother. He noticed that Lord Grantham turned and looked at him. "Where is Mary?", he asked his butler while he wiped his hands.

"She came to inform me and Mrs. Carson about what happened and broke down.", he managed to say while he tried to keep his tears back. "Mrs. Carson is with her right now trying to calm her down.", he saw Lord Grantham nodding in agreement and leaving to find his wife. He stood there for a moment watching the younger man who had just lost his daughter walking away. He walked back to his room to find Elsie still holding Mary, though her sobs had subsided from before. He noticed that his wife was crying silently about the young woman that died and he knew how much his wife loved Lady Sybil as one of her daughters. She was the one that Sybil would go whenever she had a problem or was sad and didn't want to bother her mother or her sisters or her grandmother. Elsie always had time for the girl and loved to spend time with her but she hadn't stopped loving her as a daughter once they had the twins with them and after giving birth to Charlotte.

Mary pulled away from the embrace and looked down on her hands a bit embarrassed. "I am so sorry.", she said as she wiped her eyes with her hands. She felt the housekeeper's hand lifting her head to face her. She saw the love and the sadness in Elsie's face and found that she was taking comfort from her.

"There is nothing to apologize for, Mary.", the three of them knew that it wasn't time for proper things. There were some times when the butler or the housekeeper would call her and her sisters just by their names and they didn't mind at all. "You lost your sister who you loved very much. It's normal to have this reaction.", she said in a soft and caring voice. "Please, remember that I will be here for you or Edith whenever you want.", she offered a sad smile to the young woman.

Mary was so glad that she had a person where she could go if she wanted to as she knew that her mother would be in a state where she wouldn't comfort her daughters for a while. She stared at the housekeeper's face and saw the honesty of her words. She stood up from the floor with the help of Charles. She hesitated for a moment but without a second thought she hugged Elsie and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Carson. Sybil loved you very much and I'm sure that Edith would be grateful to know that you will there for her whenever she wants. Thank you so much.", she squeezed the older woman's hand and offered her a sad smile. "I have to check on my mother. Carson, please inform the staff about what happened.", she said as she stopped in front of the butler.

"Of course, Milady.", he offered her as well a sad smile and watched her leaving the room. Along with his wife they made their way to the servant's quartets to wake them up and ask them to gather in the servant's hall.

They were standing in silence in the servant's hall as Charles had informed them about Lady Sybil's death. He was looking in the distance as he tried to hold back his tears. He didn't want to break down in front of his staff. "Is there anything we should do, Mr. Carson?", it was Daisy who broke the silence that was full of sadness about the young woman's death.

"Carry on, Daisy.", he straightened himself. "That's we all must.", he looked at everyone and left the room with heavy steps.

Elsie watched him leave and then turned to see Daisy with sadness. She walked towards the girl and put her arms around her letting her cry in her arms. After she made sure that the girl's sobs had subsided she left to find her husband. As she walked towards the pantry she noticed Thomas and Anna standing straighter in her presence. "Oh! Don't mind me!", she said as a sob escaped her. "The sweetest spirit under this roof is gone…", she stopped to hold back a sob. "…and I'm wiping myself.", she left them to go to her husband. She wiped her eyes as she entered his pantry. "Are you alright, Mr. Carson?", she asked him knowing that some of the staff was still outside.

"I knew her all her life you see.", he was looking in the distance. "I've known her since she was born.", he kept looking in the distance when he felt her hand on his arms. He looked down at his wife who was trying hard not to break down and placed his free hand on top of hers.

They went back to their bedroom after making sure that everyone else had retired to get some rest as difficult days were coming. Once they were inside the room Elsie broke down in tears and Charles took her in his arms. They sat in the end of the bed with Charles holding her as she was crying. They didn't sleep one second as they remembered the short life of Sybil. Elsie had arrived at Downton a year before Sybil was born, so she had known her since she was born. She remembered the times she had come to her in tears or to ask her something or to just spend time with her. The morning found them in their daughters' bedroom with Elsie holding the twins in her arms as they cried for the death of their friend and sister and Charles holding Charlotte who was crying as well.

After the funeral Charles had taken over Elsie's work as well as she was in their daughters' bedroom with their three daughters and the two Crawly sisters. Mary and Edith had gone to Elsie, after their grandmother and Isobel left from the house, in tears. Elsie knowing that they would like to spend time with the twins and Charlotte, she took them to the girls' bedroom where they stayed until the dressing gong was heard and the Crawly sisters left for their rooms. Mary and Edith were feeling a little better as they made their way to their rooms. It did them good to spend time with Rose, Christine and Charlotte. They loved the three girls as their sisters and knew how sad they were about Sybil's death.

Difficult days were coming but Mary and Edith knew that they had to carry on and with the help from the Carson family everything was going to be alright.

**Please, please, please review! I would like to know what you think of this chapter! As you can see the title is an inspiration for what Elsie said about Sybil's death in episode five of series three!**

**To Be Continued…**


	12. The definition of happiness

Chapter 12: The Definition Of Happiness

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews and your support though this story! It really meant and means a lot to me as this story had the most reviews from all of my other stories! Thank you so much! So, here we are in the last chapter of this lovely journey in the Carsons' family. We've seen our lovely couple, Elsie and Charles, adjusting to married life, meeting and adopting two lovely girls and finally having their own daughter. What life keeps in store for them in this final chapter? Let's find out. There will be a time jump. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in the drama, isn't mine.**

Charles was in Elsie's sitting room pacing back and forth completely nervous. Elsie was sitting in her desk chair finishing some last papers that needed her attention. He was making her more nervous than she already was. As she finished her work, she put everything aside and turned to look at her husband. "Charles, can you stop it?", she asked him in a soft, low voice but he didn't seem to hear her and continued pacing in the room. "Charles, can you please calm down?", she tried once more but failed again. "Charles Carson! Sit. Down. Now.", she shouted at him which seemed to work as he stopped and turned to look at her in shock.

"Why are you shouting at me, Elsie?", he was very upset with his wife now.

"Because you have been pacing in this room for the last hour and making me more nervous that I already am.", she said in a loud voice to make him understand. "We have been through the same situation four times already, Charles.", she was trying to calm down because she knew that they wouldn't gain anything with the nerves.

He seemed to calm a bit as he sat down in the armchair and looked at her. "Yes, I know that! We've been through this when Rose gave birth to the seven year old Charlie and the four year old Abigail. We've been through this when Christine gave birth to the five year old Edward and David. We've been through this when Charlotte gave birth to the one year old Elsa.", he looked at her rather upset.

"Exactly!", she was trying to stay calm so she could calm down her husband. "I don't see why this time has to be different from the other four.", she knew what he was going to answer but she needed him to talk about it.

"Christine had difficulties with her previous pregnancy and she almost died as she gave birth to the twins.", the worry for his daughter was written all over his face. "She had to stay in bed through her whole pregnancy, Elsie. She might die in the labor.", he didn't want to break down in front of his wife but he buried his face in his hands and started crying.

Elsie stood up from her desk chair and sat down on the arm of the armchair putting her arms around her husband. She let him cry in her arms knowing how worried he was. She was worried as well about her daughter and grandchild as she had been though the same almost twenty three years ago with their Charlotte. "Charles, I know how worried you are but you must calm down. Our Christine is a very strong woman and remember that I was in bed through my pregnancy with Charlotte and I gave birth in the seventh month. At least, Christine was nine month pregnant when she went into labor.", she placed a soft kiss on his lips as he lifted his head to look at her. "I was seventeen years older than Christine is now that she is giving birth.", she reminded him of that fact as well.

"You don't have to remind me that, thank you very much. I was so worried that I would lost you because we wanted so much a child of our own.", he buried his face in her chest and held her tightly to him.

"Charles, why don't we remember when Rose announced that she was pregnant and when we held our first grandchild for the first time?", she asked him hoping to get his mind out of their daughter who was giving birth in the moment.

**/-00-/**

_Only six months ago their daughter Rose married the man of the life, whom she loved very much. Charles had been very protective over his daughter when she told him that she was walking out with a young man and had asked her to marry him. He wanted to meet that young man first before they could carry on in planning the wedding. _

_Rose had warned Michael about her father when a month had passed that they were walking out together and was a little terrified when her father had asked him to go for a drink in the pub to talk. She had been so terrified about her father's reaction that she had gone to her mother in tears. Mother and daughter were surprised to find Charles and Michael in the doorway of the sitting room looking at them. "I believe that this man would like to marry you, Ms. Carson.", he announced to his daughter with a smile._

_Rose was so happy that moment that she went straight to her father hugging him and kissing him. The four of them talked about the wedding and about informing the others. That night Christine told her sister that she was walking out as well with a young man but they wanted to wait for a while. Only a month later Rose found herself married and living with her husband in a very nice house in the village. She was a teacher in the village's school while Michael was a doctor in the village's hospital. _

_She had been married only for six months when she discovered that she was pregnant. She wanted to inform her husband first of all and then inform her parents and sisters. That night they had a very romantic night as Michael was thrilled about having a baby and showed her how much he loved her until the wee hours of the morning. The next morning she took the day off from the school, so she could go to the big house to inform her parents. Fortunately, she found them in her mother's sitting room looking over some papers and having tea. They were so happy that they were going to be grandfathers that Elsie had tears in her eyes and started making plans about her grandchild._

…

_Elsie was in her sitting room checking her book for the chores the housemaids had to do for the next week. They would be very busy as a party was planned for two weeks time and she had to start early enough as she wasn't as young as she used to be once. She was so startled when Charles stormed into her sitting room that she let out a scream and almost fell from her chair. "For heaven's sake, Charles!", her hand was on her chest as she tried to take deep breaths to calm down. "Are you trying to kill me from a heart attack?", she shouted at him as she gained back her breathing and calm down her racing heart._

_Charles seemed to calm down a bit as he saw his wife shouting at him for startling her. "I'm so sorry, Elsie. I didn't want to startle you.", he said in an apologetic voice. _

"_What happened that caused you to storm in my sitting room almost killing me from a heart attack?", she had calmed down a bit but she was worried about Charles explanation._

"_Michael called me a few minutes ago. Rose is in labor.", he explained her his reason of entering like that. "She is asking for you and doesn't want Michael with her.", by the moment he finished his sentence Elsie was already putting on her coat and rushing out of the house through the back door. He wanted to be there as well to keep company to his son-in-law and be there for his wife and daughter in case they needed him. He left the sitting room in search of Anna and Thomas._

_Elsie was actually running towards her daughter's home as she wanted to arrive quickly to be with her through the labor. Michael had seen her running towards the house and rushed to meet her in the door. She was taken by surprise and lost her balance but Michael's hands caught her in time to steady her. She took a moment to catch her breath. "How is she?", she asked him as she was gaining back her natural breathing._

"_In the beginning I was with her speaking softly to her and rubbing her back but she started asking for you and wanted me to leave her alone.", he was holding back his tears but he let a few to fell from his eyes. "Please go with her, mother.", he buried his face in his hands and started crying._

_Elsie was trying hard to hold back her giggles as she watched her son-in-law crying in front of her. "Don't worry, lad. Everything is going to be alright. You will soon hold your first child in your arms.", she let a few giggles escape her. "I wanted Charles as well with me when I was giving birth to Charlotte but that was in the beginning. I was upset that the doctor didn't let him stay with me but soon I didn't want him to be there because I would have spoken to him in a very bad way.", she started giggling after giving him a reassuring smile and made her way upstairs upon hearing her daughter's cries. Rose had asked her parents if they had a problem about telling Michael that they were her adopted parents and they had agreed with her. Michael respected his parents-in-law even more after Rose telling him what they had done for her and her sister._

_Rose was asking for her mother, she wanted her to be there to support her. She didn't want Michael to witness what was going to happen as she was sure he was going to apologize to her even if all these was going to give him his first child and if God would want a few more children in the future. Doctor Clarkson had told her that soon she would be able to push but she was feeling already tired and she just wanted her mother. She sighed in relief when the door of the bedroom opened and revealed Elsie with a warm smile on her face. She got out of her coat and placed it on an empty chair, then sat on the bed next to her daughter and kissed her on the cheek. "Oh, mama! I'm so glad that you are here with me!", she started crying as her mother put her arms around her._

"_Don't worry, lass. Everything is going to be alright. Soon you will hold in your arms your first child.", she was speaking in a soft and low voice to calm her down and reassure her that everything was going to be alright. _

_In the meantime Charles had arrived as well in the house and upon seeing how nervous and worried Michael was he offered him a glass of brandy to calm him down and took a glass of brandy himself to calm down. As they were sitting in the sitting room and hearing Rose's cries from upstairs, Charles remembered the day his lovely Elsie was giving birth to their Charlotte. He was in the same state as his son-in-law was in the moment and sending prays to God to keep both his wife and child safe. He was doing the same thing right now but he was praying to God to keep his daughter and grandchild safe._

_After almost five hours the baby's cries filled the whole house making its parents and grandparents smile. Michael stood up from the sofa ready to go upstairs when Charles' hand grasped his arm. "Not yet, lad. The doctor or the nurse will come to fetch you so you can meet your child and see your wife.", he offered him a smile of reassurance and they sat back down in the sofa. _

_After a few minutes they heard footsteps coming down the stairs and into the sitting room. They stood up thinking that it was the doctor or the nurse that had come to fetch them but instead they saw Elsie entering the room with a small baby rapped in a soft blanket in her arms. As she spotted her husband and her son-in-law she smiled widely at them and walked towards them. "Michael, please meet your son.", she said to him as she placed the baby gently in his arms._

_Michael smiled happily to his parents-in-law and looked down at his son. His smiled widen upon seeing his baby boy. "How is Rose?", he asked her as he continued staring at his boy. _

"_She is fine, a little weak from the labor but she is fine.", she said looking at her husband knowing how worried he was but didn't show it and stayed strong for their daughter and Michael. "In fact she asked me to send you upstairs to have a few minutes alone before me and Charles join you with the baby.", she looked at him._

_Michael placed a soft kiss on his son's forehead and handed him to his grandfather. He hugged and kissed Elsie on the cheek and made his way upstairs. "Our grandson was stubborn as his grandfather by putting his mother in labor for five hours.", she said and started laughing._

_Charles loved to look at his wife laugh and smile because it made her look younger and more beautiful than she already was. In that moment the baby started fussing and he handed him back to his grandmother. He laughed seeing that he stopped almost immediately in Elsie's arms and fell asleep once more. "I see that our grandson has his grandmother wrapped around his little finger.", he explained to her when she looked him confused as he was laughing._

_The two new grandparents stayed a while longer in the sitting room bonding with their grandson before making their way upstairs to join Rose and Michael._

**/-00-/**

Charles noticed that Elsie had fallen asleep in his arms and she looked so peaceful, so young and beautiful. As they were remembering all these she had moved from the arm of the armchair and snuggled into her husband's arms. She had put her head on his chest hearing his heartbeat, something that always calmed her and she had drifted off to sleep. He kissed her softly on the lips and then drifted off to sleep as well.

A few hours later Charles woke up as he felt someone shaking him and thought that it was Elsie. As he regained his senses he discovered that Elsie was still sleeping in his arms as he felt her weight and heard her breathing. As he opened his eyes he saw in front of him Andrew looking at him with a wide smile. "What happened, Andrew?", he asked worried about his daughter.

"Don't worry, father. Everything is alright. Christine and the baby is perfectly fine.", he smiled at him reassuringly. "Should we wake her up?", he asked him looking towards the still sleeping Elsie.

Charles had noticed that the last weeks Elsie wasn't sleeping very well because of her worry about their daughter and grandchild and seeing that she hadn't woken up with Andrew shaking them he decided to let her sleep a while longer. "No, no. She wasn't sleeping very well the last weeks because she was worried about Christine and the baby. I will take her to our bedroom to sleep. Go back to Christine and tell her that we love her very much. I will bring her in an hour to meet our new grandchild.", he saw Andrew nodding in agreement and leaving the sitting room while he stood up with Elsie in his arms. He wasn't as young as he used to be but he would carry her to their bedroom.

As he placed her softly on the bed she opened her eyes and smiled at him. He laughed and kissed her softly on the lips. "I thought that you were asleep, love.", he took off his jacket, shoes and shocks to be more comfortable.

"I was until a few minutes ago. I woke up once you lowered me on the bed. You know how much I love to sleep in your arms, love.", she said with a wide smile.

"Well, since you woke up and we will go to meet our new grandchild in an hour I have an idea of what we could do, Mrs. Carson.", he said to her with a smirk as he leaned down and started kissing her passionately.

"I like that idea very much, Mr. Carson.", she informed him as she got out of the bed without breaking their kiss.

He started working on the buttons of her dress as her hands were working on the buttons of his shirt. As he began lowering the dress from her shoulders he started kissing the skin that was beginning to reveal in front of his eyes. Her head fell back to help him with his actions as she continued to work on his shirt's buttons until she ripped his shirt with her strength. Charles looked at her in amusement upon hearing his shirt being ripped from his body. In a matter of minutes they were both standing naked kissing passionately. He broke the kiss only to throw the covers aside and take her in his arms. He kneeled on the bed and placed her softly in the middle as he was kissing her hungrily.

Soon his mouth and hands were traveling all over her body as she was moaning in pleasure. He gave his attention for a while to her breasts before going to back to her mouth and kissing her. His left hand traveled down to her center and she gave him her permission by opening her legs for him. He slipped first one finger inside her and then another. He started moving his hand against her and soon she was moving along with his hand. She reached her climax after a few more thrusts of his hand and she cried out his name for the whole world to hear.

He removed his fingers and started sucking them in front of her as she tried to calm down from her release. As she watched him do that she felt the desire for him to build once more inside her and she wanted to feel him inside her. "Please, Charles… I need _you_…", she pleaded him as she began breathing heavily with the desire taking over her whole body.

He moved on top of her and kissed her passionately on the lips as he entered her slowly. He began moving against her and soon she joined him in a steady rhythm. As he felt that she was nearing to her climax he slowed down his thrusts gaining a scowl from his wife. He laughed a bit but kept his thrusts slow as he wanted to give her all the pleasure in the world. He started moving faster when he felt them both nearing their release. The room was filled with the cries of 'Elsie' and 'Charles' as they stayed joined trying to catch their breaths and Charles placing soft kisses on her lips.

After a while of just lying on the bed in each other's arms, Charles kissed her softly on the cheek. "I believe that it is time to go and meet our grandchild.", he told her as he got out of bed and headed towards their bathroom.

"Charles, calm down. I want as well to meet and hold our grandchild but it is the fifth time we are going through this.", she said as she rolled her eyes causing him to laugh. "Don't forget that we will go through this again in four months as our Rose is five months pregnant with her third child. I do hope that she has another son as I know that Christine gave birth to a girl.", she said as she got out of the bed.

"How do you know that Christine had a daughter and why do you hope that Rose will have another son?", he asked his wife very curious about her answer.

"I'm not sure how I know that we are going to meet our new granddaughter but I just know it. As for Rose, I would like another grandson so you can one more chance to hold a boy in your arms.", she looked at him to watch his reaction. As she knew it, his face saddened a bit. "Charles, I know how much you wanted a son but it wasn't in our destiny to have a son. So, your grandsons are your chances to hold a son, to teach a son and to pass time with a son.", she walked towards him and kissed him softly on the lips. "Off you go now. I want to have a shower as well before meeting my granddaughter.", Charles entered the bathroom rolling his eyes and hearing her laughing.

Charles was amused when they entered their daughters' room in the house and Andrew introduced them to their granddaughter. He just didn't know how his wife always knew what sex was every baby before they met it and held it in their arms. He decided to just let it pass and enjoy holding his granddaughter in his arms. In four months he was going to wait again for his daughter Rose to give birth to her third child but he just prayed to God to keep his daughter and grandchild safe.

Four months later Rose went into labor after Sophie's christening had just finished and they were heading to their parents' cottage to celebrate. As Elsie had predicted, Rose gave birth to a baby boy that they decided to name Kevin. Elsie loved all her grandchildren and she knew that they were going to have more grandchildren in the future. She didn't want to think about the future. She just wanted to enjoy the present with her husband, her daughters, her sons and her grandchildren. She was holding little Kevin in her arms as she thought about her life and how much it had changed in the last twenty four years. They got married in 1910 and by their first anniversary they already had two lovely daughters and they were expecting a baby. In the last eight years their lives had changed even more as Rose was the first one to get married and have a child, then Christine got married and had a child and only two years ago their Charlotte got married and now she had a daughter that was one year old. They were married twenty four years and they had a big lovely family. She walked towards the other with little Kevin asleep in her arms and started celebrating. She smiled widely as she watched her family and turned her head to her husband who was looking her with so much love. He kissed her softly on the lips and they just enjoyed the moment. That was the definition of happiness.

**THE END!**

**Please, please, please review! I would like to know what you think of this last chapter! Would you like me to write an epilogue about the Carson family? I warn you, though, that if I write an epilogue it will a little sad! Waiting for your reviews, thoughts and opinions.**

**THANK YOU VERY MUCH!**


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